A Magical Sense
by CenturionAfricanus
Summary: Typical Harry abused by Dursley's so he finds a way to Earthland, where he learns what a real family is. Mentored by the best lightning mage of the time, Harry grows stronger than anyone ever imagined. How will he react when he gets dragged back into the world he left by a whiskered wanker. major Dumbledore bashing, bigot bashing. Harry/Meredy T for swearing. Onto GMG arc
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own fairy tail or Harry Potter**

It was a dark and stormy night.

Well, that might be exaggerating a bit. Sure it was cloudy, with no moon in sight, and thunder rolled through the air, but that Samhain, a great darkness left the world. And the reason that darkness was gone was bundled tightly in blankets, aboard a flying motorcycle.

As the motor cycle touched down onto solid pavement, the giant man riding it dismounted, carrying the tightly bundled blankets gently in his meaty hands.

"Ah Hagrid, good, do you have the boy?" an incredibly old man asked the giant, now revealed to be named Hagrid.

"Of course Professor Dumbledore, got him out of the house no trouble, little tyke fell asleep on the way." the big man said, handing the bundled child to Dumbledore.

"Very good Hagrid." Dumbledore replied, and began making his way up to a dull cookie cutter house that was just like all the others on the block.

"Are you really going to leave him here Albus, these are the worst sort of muggles I've ever seen!" a stern witch with her hair in a tight protested as she followed Dumbledore on his slow march up the front walk followed by Hagrid.

"It is for the best Minerva, they are his blood family, that is what matters, he will be safe from our world here." Dumbledore told her, his blue eyes twinkling, yes, the boy would be safe from the wizarding world here, but he knew what Mcgonagall meant, Petunia and Vernon Dursley were horrible people, just what he wanted to raise his hero, his martyr.

"Good luck, Harry Potter." Dumbledore said to the bundle he left on the front porch, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone, as were his compatriots.

On the front porch, the small boy opened his eyes, an electrifying green staring out at the world, his story only just beginning.

 **5 years later**

Harry Potter was miserable. His life was one of difficult tasks made harder by the difficult people in it. He worked for everything he had. He worked for every scrap of food, every sip of water, every torn oversized piece of clothing. And if he didn't work hard enough, his uncle would hit him, throw him in his cupboard for days on end.

His Aunt would make him cook and clean, and when he started going to school, both his own work and his cousin's. At school his cousin would chase him with his gang, and if they caught him, they would punch and kick him until he started coughing up blood.

He didn't see an end in sight,every year it got worse and worse, the beatings were harder, the time spent locked in his cupboard was getting longer, so Harry.

Harry put his blanket and the few pounds he had scrounged up in a bag and hid it in the yard, and when the time came for him to do outdoor chores, he grabbed his bag and slipped away, vowing never to return to number 4 Privet drive as long as he lived.

Harry had been running for a week until he hit the countryside and holed up in a hollowed out tree. A large storm was forming and Harry was trying to stay out of the freezing rain and the howling wind.

The sky boomed with thunder, but Harry saw no lightning, until the biggest bolt of lightning he had ever seen landed right on the tree he was in with a loud crash, and Harry's world went black.

Back in a magnificent castle in Scotland, the magical devices of one Albus Dumbledore, the ones meant to monitor and track him, all stopped, and the one that monitored Harry's well being, the one that Dumbledore was proud to have read abused more often than not, now read 'no longer exists'.

 **Hey, I'm not dead, just recovering from broken fingers that made typing quite painful and getting over an anime addiction. I blame my terrible friends for introducing me, and I know one of them will probably read this, they know who they are. I am writing for all my stories, all three one I had up before, this one, and a second new one I plan on getting up some point between Christmas and New Years. Yes posting is really slow for me, but I'm a perfectionist running on an incredibly tight schedule, one who is grateful for insomnia as it is usually the only way for me to get all my stuff done.**

 **Happy reading- Centurion Africanus**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Fairy tail and Harry Potter**

When Harry woke up, the first thing he noticed was he wasn't in his tree anymore, nor was he in a forest, but at the outskirts of a small town.

Harry made his way into the town, being careful not to let anyone see him, he had learned early on that adults meant returning to the Dursley's, the very last place he ever wanted to be.

As he crept through the busy town, he noticed how different this town was compared to any other one he had ever been too. First, Uncle Vernon would have had a heart attack if he saw all the 'freaks' as he put it. There were people doing incredible tricks everywhere, men juggling fire, women floating things with their minds, it was like a circus, and dare he say it, like magic.

Magic was a word banned by his uncle, his worst beating came when things happened 'like magic'. But when he looked around now, magic was the only word he knew to describe what he was surrounded by.

"Why are you gaping like that, you look like you've never seen a guild doing tricks before." a voice from Harry's left said, causing him to spin around.

On Harry's left was a small girl with bright pink hair and red earmuffs, despite the warmer weather. She, she was looking at him with a mischievous smile on her face.

"What's a guild, and why is your hair pink?" Harry asked the strange girl, whose mouth proceeded to drop comically.

"A guild is a group of mages who come together like a family, the one in this town is Giant's Eye. And what's wrong with my hair."

"Nothing, I've just never seen pink hair before." Harry tried to process the information he was being told, mages and magic, and...family.

"So if I learned magic, I could join a guild, I could have a family?" Harry asked the pinkette, who gave him an excited nod and began telling him all about the different guilds.

At this point, Harry had accepted this was either a crazy dream and he had fallen into some strange new world. He was calmer than he thought he would, but he only had up to go from the Dursleys, so he would just run with his new situation, his new life.

"I'm gonna learn magic, just you watch, uh, what was your name again?" Harry cut off the pink haired girl, who laughed softly.

"It's Meredy, and what kind of magic are you going to learn?" she asked

"There's more than one kind?" Harry asked, confused

"There are hundreds of different kinds of magic, from ancient dark magic, to elemental magic, and animal controlling magic, I haven't learned any magic yet, but I keep trying." Meredy told him

"So I can think of anything and learn that kind of magic?" Harry asked her, his eyes wider than before.

"Yup, I haven't decided what kind of magic to learn yet though." Meredy told him sadly.

"Any kind of magic…" Harry didn't hear what she had said, he was too deep in thought.

"Lightning magic, I'm going to learn lightning magic." Harry said, gently touching his lightning scar, the only connection he had to his parents.

"Are you sure, lightning magic is some of the hardest magic to learn?" Meredy asked, her eyebrows scrunching up.

"I'm sure." Harry said

 **TWO YEARS LATER**

Harry and Meredy had grown close as they lived on the streets of Ibex. Harry had kept his word and had learned the basics of lightning magic, he had tried teaching Meredy, but she had different results.

Meredy could feel the electricity in people, while Harry could create and shoot green lightning, but in tiny amounts.

Since only Harry has figured out how to do magic, he provided a distraction while Meredy would steal food for them.

During one food run, everything changed.

Harry was using his lightning to start a small fire out back of a stall while Meredy stole them food.

Harry sparked the fire and both he and Meredy snuck away with their prize. As they enjoyed their meal together, they saw that the market place had gone completely up in flames,

"We have to go help, we started the fire." Meredy insisted to Harry, but Harry felt something off.

"I think we should get out of here Meredy, I made sure our distraction fire wouldn't actually destroy anything, this is something else." Harry said, listening to his gut.

"But Harry, we have to help, and at least see if there is any real danger." Meredy insisted, and Harry gave I sigh in defeat.

"Fine, but if there is danger, you have to promise to get out of there." Harry said. Meredy pouted, but agreed and the two went to investigate the smoke coming from the market.

When the two street rats made it to the market, the sight they met was a grisly one. Bodies were strewn on the streets, guild mages from the city's guild were being blown back, limbs flying, heads rolling, the city guild master lying dead on the street.

"Spread out and find the key, these weak guild losers didn't have it so a citizen must have it, kill anyone who gets in your way!" A tall man with spiked black hair called to three others, who all separated out into the city.

When Harry heard key, he looked back at Meredy, who was holding her necklace that had a key around it. A key made of pure black stone that they had found in the wall of the guild when they were sneaking in to try and learn magic by watching others.

"Meredy, take the key and run, don't let whoever these creeps are get their hands on it." He told her, and she nodded, then she looked at him, worry shining in her eyes.

"And what are you going to be doing?"

"Keeping them off your back." Harry told her. As Meredy went to protest, Harry pulled her into a quick hug, then jumped off the rooftop they were on and yelled to the guy who had killed the majority of the town's guild.

"Hey loser, you want this key, then you gotta catch me!" Harry called, holding up a rock that looked similar to the key, before taking off in the direction away from Meredy. Taking a strong sense of pleasure in the guy's yells of protest and anger.

Harry led him to the edge of town , then quickly turned and sent as much lightning as he could at him, watching as the green bolt crashed into the guy's chest, only to have it barely leave a mark, not even making him stumble.

"Is that all you've got, that was your plan. Do you even know who I am boy, I am the Reaper, second in command of the dark guild Grimoire Heart, defeater of many guilds, and the most powerful death mage since Zeref himself! Now give me the key and I'll make you death quick and painless." Harry chuckled and chucked the rock at him, which hit him square in the face.

"There you go, one key shaped rock, just for you, don't you feel special now." Harry mocked, trying to get the guy as mad as possible so he could so he could lead him away from the city, and Meredy.

Before he could start running again, a wall of pure energy sprung up in his path.

"You're not getting away that easy punk, I'm going to rip you limb from limb until you're begging for death." Reaper growled at him, Harry knew this would be his last stand, but all he could think about was Meredy.

"Hey Boss, we got the key, some girl had it." A voice called from outside the energy ring. Harry looked up and saw a wild eyed teen twirling a key on a chain on one of his fingers. Harry's heart stopped. They found Meredy, which meant they killed her.

"Aw, your diversion didn't work, did you think we were idiots boy, but now you die and get to join your little girl friend!" Reaper teased, sending a large blast of pure death magic at him, "Death Cannon!" Reaper called and the blast slammed into Harry, and everything went white for Harry.

 **Did I just kill the main character in chapter 2? Maybe, wouldn't be the craziest thing I've ever done. Reviews are always welcome.**

 **Happy Reading- Centurion Africanus**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Harry Potter or fairy tail**

When Harry opened his eyes, he saw he was in what looked like a train station. Why dieing looked like a train station was beyond him, maybe a metaphorical statement, maybe Death was secretly a Thomas the tank engine fan. And maybe this was his perception of the afterlife.

"The answer is none of the above." A cold voice said behind Harry, causing him to spin quickly. Standing behind was the most stereotypical image of death Harry had ever seen. From the tall figure in a black hooded cloak, to the dark feathery wings. What really sold Harry was the long spiked scythe death was carrying. Despite the situation, Harry had to stop himself from laughing.

"This is the place between life and death, I believe it is called purgatory by some. This is the only place where I may speak to mortals who still have a place in the world of the living." Death said, confusing Harry.

"So I'm not dead?" Harry asked, wanting to get that fact straightened out as fast as he could.

"No, you could choose to pass on from here, but you can also go back, I sense you have unfinished business with the one who tries to take my name." Death said in an offended tone.

"But how am I supposed to beat him, I hit him with everything I had and he hardly flinched, he basically killed me with a flick of his wrist, how am I supposed to compare to that?" Harry asked, becoming distraught.

"I will teach you my magic, the magic meant to master death itself, but you must not rely on this magic alone, you will be branded as dark and evil, continue training your own magic, find yourself a teacher in the world of the living, and each night, I will teach you my magic as you dream." Death offered to Harry, who stood there stunned.

"I accept." Harry said, holding his hand out to Death, who shook his hand firmly, using the contact to transfer some of his immense power into Harry, changing the way his magic worked, it empowered him. Harry's eyes glowed an emerald green, and his disappeared back to the world of the living, hell bent on destroying the false Reaper.

Death opened his cloak, depositing a shriveled mass that somewhat resembled a child. It was a soul, and at least, a small part of one. Death knew it didn't belong inside that boy's mind, not in the world the boy stumbled in from either. The boy was a dimensional traveler, and one day he would need to go back, Death wished his new pupil luck, and went back to his own world, to prepare for his first pupil, who knows what the boy would accomplish.

 **With Harry**

Harry's eyes snapped open. The death magic cannon was just about to smack him square in the face, Harry smirked and let his instincts take over.

Apparently those instincts were completely crazy, because he opened his mouth and ATE the magic shot. When Harry swallowed the magic down, he felt his stomach start to boil, like it was full of power, wild and unharnessed. Time to do something with that power.

"Death God's Bellow!" Harry yelled and shot a solid stream of pure black magic back at Reaper, who barely managed to jump out of the way, but it destroyed the structure the blonde teen was standing on, causing him to be buried.

"What the hell, what are you!" Reaper cried as he dodged another pure black blast that was directed at him.

"I am here to represent the real Grim Reaper, and he isn't too pleased with you, say hi to him for me." Harry responded, getting a hit on the ground in front of the false Reaper, causing him to be thrown back onto the ground.

"Goodbye, Death God's Reap" Harry yelled and a pure black scythe formed in his hands. He swung it at the False reaper and watched as it passed right through his neck. Reaper's head hit the ground with a fleshy splat. Harry grinned in victory, then collapsed on the ground, completely spent of all his energy.

 **Elsewhere**

Laxus Dreyar wasn't a happy mage. He finally made S class, the most prestigious level for a mage besides the 10 Wizard saints, but everyone was sweeping his accomplishment aside, saying since he was the master's grandson, he was expected to win, because of a strong bloodline and some even said his Gramps was playing favorites.

Laxus knew the second was a lie, Makarov always was the hardest on him, and always the least impressed when he completed a difficult job. So the second he was back in top shape after the trial, he took the highest paying S class job available and set out to kill some monster the was believed to be a demon of some sort.

Laxus was walking to the last town before the one his job was in, planning on stopping at an inn for some rest, but seeing as the entire town was on fire, the guild in ruins, and bodies strewn across everything put a damper in his plan.

Laxus sprinted into the town, looking everywhere for survivors, he didn't find any until he reached the far side of town. What Laxus found there was beyond words. There was a pile of rubble that looked like someone had climbed out of it, a headless body, and an unconscious boy who couldn't have been older than 8.

When Laxus looked at the very dead person, he was astonished to see the guild emblem on its left arm. Grimoire Heart. Based off what the person probably looked like when he still had a head, Laxus guessed it was the Reaper, a terrifying dark mage, often said to be the second coming of Zeref. And now he was dead, and from the looks of it, the boy had been the one to do the deed.

Laxus carefully picked the boy up. To get the story of what happened at the very least. But Laxus wondered why he felt his heart pull at the sight of the young boy. Maybe it was his ratty clothes, and the fact he looked really underfed. Whatever the reason was, Laxus took the boy out of the flaming ruins and with him on his job to the next city.

The boy was unconscious the entire time Laxus carried him. Once Laxus reached his goal, a small mining town close to the Phoenix Mountains. (google fiore map if you want a visual) Laxus dropped the boy off at an inn before going to see the mayor about the job details. Apparently there was something in the nearby copper mine that was leaving workers as shriveled husks, like all life was sucked out of them.

Laxus decided to wait until the next day, night time was probably the worst time to face something like that. When he got back to his room, he was greeted by a blast of lightning to the face. It wasn't very strong, but it sure as hell caught him off guard.

Laxus wound up falling flat on his ass, only to be jumped on by the small boy. Now that he was conscious, Laxus got a better look at him. The bao had pitch black hair that stuck up like his own. His features were pointed and lacking baby fat typical in youth. The boy had a lightning scar like his own, just smaller and on his forehead. The most defining feature of the boy though, was his emerald eyes, swimming with untapped power, the reflecting the same green of his lightning, which was flowing up through his hair and was on his cocked fist, pointing at his face. In hindsight, leaving the boy to wake up in a completely foreign environment was probably a bad idea.

"Who are you and where am I?" the boy growled as Laxus slowly put his hands up, a sign of surrender. Sure he knew he could pound the kid into a pulp, but hitting little kids unless absolutely necessary was not something he enjoyed, so he played along with the kid.

"My name is Laxus Dreyar, I was going to pass through your town, but when I arrived, everything was on fire and you were the only survivor I found. Which leads me to ask, what the hell happened and as far as I know, only you can give me an answer." Laxus said, putting some force behind his words.

The boy slowly climbed off his and told Laxus about how him and his friend, had found the market in flames, the four people who were looking for a key. How his friend had that key. How he had tried to lead them away so his friend could escape, but he only got the leader to follow and one of the others had found his friend and most likely her.

"Then everything went black, and I woke up here." The boy, Harry, told Laxus, who pretended he hadn't heard the boy lying at the end. Whatever happened clearly scarred the boy, it wasn't something he had to bring up now.

"Well, that's one hell of a story, you know what you're going to do next?" Laxus asked Harry, who just shook his head.

Laxus held back a groan at what he was about to do, but Gramps would knock his teeth out if he didn't at least offer the boy a home at Fairy Tail.

"Well how about once I'm done with my job, I take you back to my guild and you can stay there." Laxus offered, flinching a bit. Another weakling who he was forbidden to show his full power too.

"Am I strong enough?" Harry asked quietly, shocking Laxus.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Laxus asked

"I thought I would have to get stronger to join a guild, that guilds weren't places for people who were weak, that I had to be strong enough to stand up for myself before I could join." Harry said and Laxus couldn't believe his ears. Finally he found someone who agreed with him. Sure it was a little kid who probably couldn't do anything more than throw a few sparks around, but here was someone he could stand to have be around him, someone who followed the same thought pattern as him.

"I wish Harry, my guild is full of weaklings, people who just join so they can sit around and drink, only taking jobs when they run out of booze funds. How about this, I'll take you to my guild if you can prove yourself, I'll let you tag along on my job and watch, then I'll let you decide if you are willing to fight me and I'll see if you are good enough to join the guild." Laxus pitched to the boy who gave a nod in determination.

"And when I'm stronger than everyone, I'll crush everyone in Grimoire Heart, starting with the blonde haired bastard." Harry growled.

The next day Laxus set out into the mining caves, followed closely by Harry, who had promised not to tell anyone back at the guild, if he got in, he was following Laxus on a S class quest, Laxus shuddered as he thought of what Gramps would do to him.

At the bottom of the tunnel, the caves opened into a cavern. Its walls were smooth and reflective, like they had been buffed and polished. At the center of the cavern was a disfigured form. It was the size of a bear with twisted rams horns on either side of it's head. It wasn't carrying a weapon, but it's claws were long as knives. It's skin was a sickly green and covered in scars, some fresh, some looked to be hundreds of years old. It had no hair, just a slimy exterior and a wicked grin filled with fangs.

"So you are my next meal, so be it little boy." the thing said in a garbled voice, like something was caught in its throat, which there was, seeing as the next thing the creature did was spit acid at the two of them. Both Harry and Laxus dodged, causing the acid to hit the wall, melting a smooth chunk out of it.

"Watch and learn kid, this is the real power of lightning." Laxus said to Harry, then turned and blasted the green slimy thing with a direct bolt of lightning. When the dust cleared, instead of seeing fried thing like he expected, the thing was still standing, and his horns were sparking.

"Nice try, but I have the to power to absorb normal magic, you'll need something of a higher caliber if you want to hurt me." the thing gloated, but Laxus smirked inwardly, the thing just told him how to defeat it, dumbass.

"Shouldn't have told me that slime-o, see how you like this, Lightning Dragon's ROAR!" Laxus let loose a full powered roar and caught a glimpse of the things panicked expression before it got blasted back into the far wall.

"Better, now lets see how good you really are." the thing spat, then jumped at Laxus, swinging its claws straight at Laxus's face, but Laxus swiftly moved to the side and gave the thing a lightning dragon charged kick to the gut, knocking it back.

"Well, another opponent dies, what a shame." the thing said, coughing up blood, while Laxus gave a cocky smile.

"Don't know what you mean, you look like you're the one about to die, not me." Laxus told the thing, but it only smirked.

"Foolish little dragon, I am Hemtross, the grand demon of poison, created by Zeref himself. By simply touching me, I have infected you, you are dieing as we speak, just look at your leg." the thing said to Laxus, who glanced down at his leg, which he was surprised to find was withering away.

"What the hell!" LAxus roared, but he could feel the poison now, draining his strength.

"Like I said, another one falls before my power." Hemtross grinned, but was then hit in the head by a large rock. Harry had climbed up on a ledge that was created by the acid spit and knocked out the demon. He then ran over to LAxus, who was starting to have trouble breathing.

"Well, so much for getting you to the guild huh kid." Laxus joked, wincing in pain, but Harry shook his head.

"There isn't any poison, it's some kind of death magic."

"So the boy found my trick, big whoop, my poison is the liquid form of death magic, you are still going to die." the demon growled, but Harry shook his head.

"No, you are." he said simply and placed his hand on Laxus's leg. Almost instantly Laxus felt better. When he looked down at Harry, he saw Harry was holding a blob that looked like black sludge. Which he then ATE.

"Better tasting than what that Reaper guy could do." Harry said while both Laxus and Hemtross stared at him in shock, the kid just ate pure death magic.

"Laxus, I would be grateful if you don't tell anyone I could do this magic. I don't need to worry about the booger over there because I'm about to end him." Harry said in an almost robotic tone.

"Just because you are some kind of death slayer doesn't mean you are powerful enough to kill me, you're practically still in diapers." Hemtross laughed, but Harry quickly cured that.

"Death God's BELLOW" Harry let out a breath attack, which nailed Hemtross back and clean through a wall. Laxus quickly followed Harry's attack with his own roar, leaving Hemtross nothing more than a pile of goo and a pair of ram's horns on the ground.

"Well, kid, you definitely are strong enough to join my guild." LAxus smiled down at Harry who simply nodded in recognition. "Welcome to Fairy Tail kid!"

 **Nope, not dead, just relatively OP. If you noticed Harry and his robotness, that's because he basically just lost everything, and for him to fit in this Laxus's definition of strong, he has to be uncaring. I'm basically mirroring Ultear and Meredy's relationship from the anime except Laxus will be like an older brother instead of a sibling.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Fairy tail and Harry potter**

As Laxus and Harry made their way back to Fairy Tail on foot, they shared stories, something about fighting and killing a demon created by the most evil wizard in existence bonded people. Harry supposed that a troll would also have similar results.

Harry learned about Laxus and his frustration with his grandfather. How he was never good enough for the standards set for him, and when he did exceed expectations, his accomplishments were passed off as average because of his grandfather. Harry learned of his frustration with those weaker than him always judging him, why did they get to say anything about him if they couldn't do half of what he could. Harry could understand Laxus's frustration, they were similar to his own.

Laxus quickly adapted to Harry's robotic speech and attitude. Harry shared his life with Laxus, to a point. He started when he woke up in the middle of nowhere up to facing off and killing the Reaper. Harry told Laxus the truth of his magic, which Laxus promised to keep to himself. Harry had to constantly restrain himself and hold back his true power, and he would become the target of a witch hunt.

When the two finally reached Fairy Tail, Laxus had grown attached to the kid, because of both his strength and his judgement free demeanor.

As Laxus walked into the guild hall, he had to shift slightly to dodge Natsu who had tried to 'sneak attack' him. Maybe if he wasn't a dragon slayer it might work, but then again, Natsu was a buffoon who would attack anything that moved.

"Good to see you back Laxus, the town's mayor has already forwarded your reward." Laxus was greeted by his grinning Grandfather, who waved at him with one hand while holding a mug of some alcoholic beverage in the other.

"Great, put it with the rest, this here is Harry and he wants to join, I'm going to grab another job and be right back." Laxus addressed the second part to Harry before making his way to the second floor, knocking out Natsu, who tried to jump him, on the way.

"So Laxus brought you to join the guild hm?" Makarov turned his eyes to Harry, who was decidedly younger than most of the brats he had running around at the moment. He looked like he was a year and two younger than Lisanna, who was the youngest of the bunch at the moment.

"I proved my strength to Laxus and he deemed me strong enough to join and that you would trust his judgement on the matter. All I had to do was procure a mark signifying me a part of the guild." Harry responded in a flat tone.

To those paying to what the boy was saying, they were shocked. Laxus called everyone weak, not stacking up to him, and thus was not well received when he came to the guild. And now this unassuming boy was saying that Laxus had called him strong. Makarov gave the boy a once over, he wasn't much, he was too skinny, and not very tall either. He wore baggy pants that had a thin layer of grime, probably from travelling, his shirt was the same, baggy and dusty. The boy's facial features were tight and thin, conveying no emotion. Makarov took note of the scar on his forehead, paired with the straight spiked midnight hair and made the safe assumption that Harry was a lightning mage like Laxus. His eyes were what caught Makarov's attention though, it was a look he had seen many times before. Eyes that had seen too much, been through too much. This boy had a past, Makarov was sure, and it was his duty to give the boy a home, he only hoped he wouldn't get a second member like his grandson.

"Then Welcome to the guild, Erza, bring me the stamp!" Makarov declared while raising his mug as the redhead got the stamp.

"Where do you want it and what color?" Makarov asked once he had the stamp, Erza stood off to the side, giving an appraising look to the small boy.

"Black with a green outline on my left shoulder blade." Harry said, removing his shirt, getting gasps out of everyone who saw the collection of scars across his back. Makarov was so busy staring that he forgot what he was supposed to be doing until Harry cleared his throat and got the elderly master to snap out of his thoughts.

"May I ask how you got these scars at such a young age?" he asked carefully, applying the mark as Harry had specified.

"I had a disagreement with some people." Was his answer as he slipped his shirt back on.

"I got a job Harry, you good here?" Laxus asked Harry as he jumped down from the second floor, his headphones rattling as he landed.

"I have acquired a guild mark, I am prepared to depart." Harry's robotic tone unsettled those around him.

"Good." was all Laxus said and the two of them made their way to the door.

"Laxus, I don't think you should be taking someone so young with you on an S-class quest, let him stay here and adapt to his new guild." Makarov said gently to his grandson, who just scoffed.

"I may have forgotten to mention, but I'm making him my apprentice, which means he comes on all my jobs, S-class or otherwise." Laxus called over his shoulder as the two let the guild not even an hour after they first arrived.

And that pattern continued for a year until the S-class trials rolled around again and the Master required Laxus to be a proctor.

During the week Harry was left in the guild, he faced numerous challenges from Gray and Natsu. When he didn't respond to their verbal jabs and direct challenges, they confronted him directly. Which resulted in Harry grabbing Gray by the face and slamming him into the ground before he could even register Harry moving, Natsu fared better as he covered himself in his fire, meaning Harry couldn't get to close, but one blast of green lightning to the face ensured the Fire dragon slayer took a nap for a good long while.

"Anyone else?" was all Harry had to say to those remaining guild members who watched his victory over two of the most promising mages in the guild at the same time. Harry was sure if Erza or Mira were present they would have taken him up on his challenge in a heartbeat, but as they were both trying for the title of S-class, no one else stepped up.

When Laxus came back with the others, he informed Harry about the newest S-class mage, a mysterious wizard called Mystogan. Harry simply shrugged and prepared his bag for another job.

After another year of training under Laxus and constant jobs to stay away from the guild, Harry was quickly becoming stronger and stronger. His lightning magic was his go to magic, only using his god slayer when no one anyone would mind being dead was present and his own life was in danger. Death visited Harry almost nightly, giving him lessons on his magic. Harry learned to train both his body and his mind, so he didn't lose his sanity to his god slaying magic. Harry also learned his magic wouldn't necessarily kill everyone it touched, it would act as a steady drain on their magic until they had no strength to fight. It was only when he pushed beyond that with his magic did things fall dead, completely drained of their life force.

When the S-class trials rolled around again, master called Laxus in for a private word before making his announcement of the candidates.

"Alright brats, listen up and listen good. There are eight candidates this year." Makarov called to everyone, quickly gaining their attention.

"First, Erza Scarlet." no surprise as the redhead had almost won the previous year.

"Mirajane Strauss!" again, nothing new

"Cana Alberona!" It seemed to Harry the master was simply using the candidates from last year who didn't win.

"Evergreen!"

"Bickslow!"

"Freed Justine!" Huh, all three of the new members Laxus actually thought were worth something in the guild.

"Macao Conbolt!" an old pervert who was past his prime.

"And finally, Harry Potter!" there was a surprise for everyone as Harry calmly took the stage. S-class trials weren't what he was expecting, but it beat waiting around the guild for Laxus the whole time.

"Cmon Gramps, he's only here like once a month, he can't possibly be good enough for S-class, and he's younger than me!" Natsu protested, but the master was quick to shoot him down.

"He spends all his time on S-class quests as it is, Laxus vouches for his skill, and I distinctly remember hearing he beat both you and Gray while he was here for the last S-class trials." Master countered, which deflated Natsu fairly quickly.

"Alright candidates, here are your instructions, you are all to meet me at the base of mount Hakobe in three days time, there the trials will officially begin." Makarov told everyone, then left the stage, presumably to go drinking.

"I fully expect to see you crush all of the others, at once if need be." Laxus to him in a cool voice. Harry had long adapted to Laxus's cold behavior when he was in the guild, he understood the reason behind it. It was all a front to keep others from judging the real him.

"Of course, nothing less would be most unexpected." he answered back. Laxus then gave Harry a small nod and left for the second floor, most likely to prepare for his role in the upcoming trials.

When the three days had passed and the candidates met at the base of the mountain, Makarov was already waiting for them.

"Welcome my children, you are about to undertake in a rigorous trial, meant for only the strongest to come out victorious. I will digress, there have been years in the past where there was no victor, but it is on all of you to decide that." Makarov started his speech, which Harry largely ignored until actual instructions began.

"Your first step to S-class is guarded by fierce competition. I have put everyone's name in a hat and will now draw matchups. Only the victor will continue onto the next stage of the trials." Makarov said, holding up a traditional top hat.

So this portion was about power and battle prowess, Harry was confident he could defeat everyone present in direct combat, but Erza and Mira would probably both require him to use his full power, and he had no idea what tricks Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow had up their sleeves.

"First match, Macao vs Freed!" the master called and the two maged stepped forward. Harry knew this would be a fast match in Freed's favor, but it would give him time to scout the competition.

As Harry predicted, Freed passed easily, the second match was a shocker though, he didn't know Cana had it in her to defeat Evergreen, despite Evergreen and her eye trick that almost turned Cana to stone, but the young girl countered with a blinding light card, which disabled Evergreen long enough for Cana to hit her with a highly potent sleep spell.

"Third match!" the master called out while Harry pondered his options. He was most likely going to be facing either Mirajane and Erza, a good match that he looked forward too, but he would have preferred it happen later in the trial.

"Bickslow and Harry!" the master called, which made Harry sigh in slight relief, he wouldn't have to reveal his party trick just yet.

As Harry stepped into the circle with Bickslow, he quickly assessed what visable strengths the man had. He was tall and strong, easily enough to overpower Harry, and his wooden dolls made for good support, if he didn't manage to destroy them quickly. Then there were weaknesses, he was probably slow in his mismatched armor, and the helmet was both vision restraining and metal, which screamed target to Harry.

"Hope you know I'm not going easy on you just because you're a kid." Bickslow attempted to rile Harry up, but the remark just washed off the boy.

"And FIGHT!" the master called and Harry immediately jumped into action. Using a quick blast of lightning, aiming for the farthest of Bickslow's dolls. Bickslow was in too much shock at Harry's fast start to react and his doll took a direct hit. But Harry wasn't done there, he used the first doll he hit as a conductor to brake his strike outwards to hit the other dolls at the same time, destroying all five in one blow.

"And now unless you have some other kind of magic, you're screwed." Harry told Bickslow in his toneless voice, then shot lightning at Bickslow, striking him clean in the helmet.

Bickslow was blown backwards and his helmet flew clean off his head and landed on the ground, smoking and starting to melt. Now that Harry saw Bickslow's face, he could understand why he kept it covered. Both because of the terrible haircut and the offputting tattoo smack dab in the middle of his face.

"Well, you're ugly." Was all Harry had to say, Bickslow growled and glared at Harry, who met his gaze, big mistake.

Harry felt his body begin to fight him, like someone was controlling him, and at least trying to. It didn't take a genius to figure out Bickslow's magic. Soul manipulation was the only magic that worked on both animate and inanimate. Harry was certainly impressed and slightly panicked, but he kept his cool facade and focused on the lightning in the sky. With a great pull on his magic, he called a bolt of green lightning clean down on Bickslow's head, knocking him out and giving him control over his limbs back.

"And Harry will be proceeding to the next round." the Master said cheerily before he realized who the only two left were.

Erza and Mirajane. The two most would argue were the most likely to win this years trials, most bets would probably fall through on this match.

"Now girls, don't kill each other." Master warned the two while backing up quietly, taking refuge behind a cluster of rocks. "Begin!" he yelled meekly from his spot and both Mira and Erza took of at each other, neither using magic, just swinging their fists at a rapid pace, both of them landing hits a multitude of times.

It was clear to Harry the two had fought many time before, but clearly not at the level where serious power was used.

"This'll be payback for last year, I'm taking S-class this year." Mira growled as she landed a hit on Erza's unarmored face, sending the walking armory flying back.

"No, this will simply be a repeat of last year. Requip, black wing armor!" Erza broke out the first magic of the duel, requipping into a suit of armor with large individual plates guarding her arms and legs, yet leaving her joints open to maintain mobility. Of course, there were the large reptilian wings that gave the armor it's name.

"A little lift isn't going to help you Erza, I'll just drag you back to the ground!" Mira jumped up and grabbed Erza by the ankle and used gravity to slam her into the ground. Erza recovered quickly and threw several quick slashes at Mira, causing her to get a lang gash on her left arm before she could back up to the point where Erza's blade couldn't reach her.

"Is that all Mira, it looks like it won't even be a challenge for me this time." Erza mocked, causing Mira to growl.

"Takeover, Satan Soul!" Mira called and activated her signature takeover. Mira's Satan Soul gave Mira wings to keep up with Erza's flight armor, as well as gauntlets big enough to stop Erza's swords. The tail threw Harry off though, he had yet to see a demon on one of his quests with Laxus that had a tail.

Erza and Mira clashed again, spending a good ten minutes airborne sending crushing blows at each other at a rapid pace. Harry knew they both had one more trick move up their sleeve, and whoever was forced to use it first, was going to lose.

As it turned out, Erza was the one who took a powerful overhead blow that knocked her clean out of the sky, sending her crashing into the ground for a second time.

"Requip, Purgatory Armor." Erza growled and glowed as an underworldly armor covered her. It looked like a less armored version of her black wing armor with smaller wings, but Erza now carried a large club blade, and based off the power Erza was emitting, Harry was very glad he didn't end up facing her in the first round.

Erza jumped back up to where Mira was and took the offensive, landing several hard hits on the demon before Mira disengaged and started using spells.

"Darkness stream!" Mira called out and knocked Erza a solid ten feet back in the air before she recovered.

Erza jumped forward, trying to get in close again, but Mira was more than prepared.

"Soul Extinction!" Mira called out her strongest spell when Erza was close enough that she couldn't dodge or switch armors. Unfortunately, that also meant that Erza was close enough to land one last solid blow to Mira with her Purgatory blade.

The resulting explosion and landing of the combatants left massive cracks in the ground. Both Mira and Erza had reverted to the form they had started in. Both panting and out of breath, but

Harry was impressed nonetheless. Sure neither could beat Laxus, but they might be able to force him to use his dragon slayer magic. They would most definitely be able to beat him if he didn't use his god slayer magic.

"One last attack." Mira said to Erza, who nodded and raised her basic sword. Mira raised her right hand and wreathed it in black energy. The two charged each other and struck at the same time.

They both stood frozen for a second after they passed each other, extended from their last strike.

Until one of the girls collapsed.

 **Yup, thats where I'm ending it, because I'm mean. Next chapter will be the forming of the thunder gods tribe and catching up to the beginning of Fairy Tail cannon. It also may or may not include a sneak peak at the delusions of Dumbledore.**

 **Note, as of now, I am thrilled with all the favs and follows, but a first review would be nice, even if it's just a good job and nice story would make me feel better about myself. Tear.**

 **Happy reading -Centurion Africanus**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own FT and HP**

Erza collapsed to the ground, unconscious, while Mira slumped a little, but remained standing.

"And the winner is Mirajane!" Master called, jumping out from his hiding place, sporting a new winter coat. Mira was clearly exhausted, but she was grinning like a madman.

"Alright, the next portion of the trial will test your problem solving skills. Behind me are four separate tunnels, each one leads to a different cave portion within mount Hakobe itself. You goal is to reach the top of the mountain as fast as you can. You have 5 hours, but if everyone makes it in time, only the top three will be allowed to continue to the final stage of the trial." Makarov told the four remaining candidates.

Harry looked up at the top of the mountain and calculated the time it would take him and the magic energy he would be required to spend if he were to take the path less travelled. Compared to the caves where master had undoubtedly set up numerous traps, as well as set up confrontations with the other competitors. Harry was positive he could defeat all the others still remaining, but the time limit might catch up to him.

"Are there any rules once we are within the tunnels?" Harry asked the master who shrugged.

"Nope, just use everything you have to win!" He answered, "And GO!" he called and Mira, Freed, and Cana all took off into the tunnels. Harry stepped into the threshhold of the tunnel, then immediately turned around to leave, only to find runes blocking his path. No sweat.

Harry reached to where he believed the thinnest part of the ceiling to be, he jumped up and swung his fist at it hard, cloaking his hand in his godslayer magic. "Death God's Strike!" he called and smashed his way clean through the ceiling, back to the surface of the mountain.

Harry grinned and turned into lightning like Laxus had taught him and zipped his way up the mountain. Makarov was already waiting at the top, drinking out of a warming mug. When he saw Harry land in front of him, he spat out what he was drinking in a comical manner and checked his watch.

"First to the top is Harry Potter, in seven minutes 45 seconds." he said in a tone of disbelief. Harry only gave him a smug grin in return.

After about three hours, Cana came out of one of the tunnels, a grin on her face. Harry was most definitely impressed, he was certain that Freed would be next, with Mira behind him because of her injuries. Harry was beginning to think Cana may be one of the few people who knew what they were doing in the guild. She was certainly a cut above Natsu and Gray.

About 20 minutes after Cana made it out of the caves, Freed came sprinting through, Mira hot on his heels. It came down to a matter of seconds, but Freed got to the master before Mira.

"And we have our final three, Harry, Cana and Freed!" the master said joyfully, making Mira angry and start yelling how she had beaten Freed, but master's glare shut her up quickly enough.

"The final trial is the most difficult task yet." Makarov told the three remaining candidates. "Beyond me are three paths, one for each of the current S-class mages. The center is Gildarts, the right is Laxus, and the left is Mystogan. You three will decide amongst yourselves who faces who. All three matches will take place simultaneously, when a victor is decided, the S-class mage will tell me the result. The goal is to last as long as possible against your respective combatant." when Makarov finished giving them their instructions, he jumped away, presumably to wait for the victor.

"I shall not face Laxus, I know where I stand compared to him. I will face either of the others at your discretion." Harry told the two. Cana nodded and started to the center path.

"Gildarts is mine, which means Freed takes Laxus and Harry faces Mystogan." she called over her shoulder. Harry took his place at the left route while Freed lined up on the right, Cana between the two of them.

"Good fortune to you both." Freed said in a calm voice before setting down his path.

"I wish you good fortune as well Cana. I will admit you have surprised me with your strength, you have my respect." Harry told the teen, who gave him a funny look.

"Well thanks, but I'm still gonna win. And you really need to stop acting so serious, you're just a kid." she told Harry before steeling herself and setting down her path.

Harry didn't heed her words, as he had been reminded by plenty of people of his age not matching his demeanor, but until he avenged Meredy, he had no plans to let go and move on.

Harry set down his path and quickly came upon Mystogan. Mystogan was a medium sized man, probably in his mid to early 20s. He was almost completely covered by robes and had a mask over his face. On his back were a multitude of staves.

"Welcome challenger. My task is to defeat you with great haste, while your's is to last as long as you can. Prepare yourself Harry Potter." Mystogan told him in a soft tone, but Harry shook his head.

"My task was never to just hold out. One can never become victorious if they only seek to survive. My goal here is to defeat you using any means necessary." Harry answered Mystogan, and he punctuated his point by sending a blast of green lightning at Mystogan's face.

Mystogan dodged easily, but Harry used his speed to place himself behind Mystogan and sent a charged kick into his back, sending him towards a wall, where Mystogan caught himself before he could crash against the stone.

"Very well, but be warned, I shall not be held responsible when you lose." Mystogan said and tapped a staff with a fan on the top to the ground. Instantly, Harry began to feel drowsy, but a quick zap to his arm woke him straight up.

"Nice try, but sleep magic won't work on any lightning mage. Our magic is like shots of caffeine straight to the system." Harry said, letting some emotion bleed through his facade. Here was an opponent he could go all out against, one he could respect, but why couldn't he feel him giving off any magic power?

"Very well, then I will have to be more aggressive. Two layered magic circle, fire shot!" Mystogan took two of his staved and crossed them in front of his chest, two magic circles formed and shot a fireball at Harry, who quickly turned into lightning to dodge, then sent a straight bolt at Mystogan's back, thinking he couldn't defend himself.

Yet Mystogan quickly shifted from offense to defense, shifting the two staves he was holding so the touched a third that was on his back. "Three layer magic circle, Mirror Water!" he called and a crystalline shield formed over Mystogan's back, not only blocking the lightning, but sending it right back at Harry, who was knocked back from the bolt to the chest.

"I compliment your tenacity, but it won't do you any good." Mystogan, but they were both distracted by the ding that went off at the back of the cave, towards the end of the path. One of the two torches that decorated the door way out was lit, the one on the right.

"It would seem Laxus has defeated his opponent, which leaves myself and Gildarts. You are almost to the next level, but…" whatever Mystogan said was cut off by Harry turning into lightning and zipping around the cave, each time he would zoom past Mystogan and either punch or kick him.

Mystogan fell to one knee under the assault, but he managed to knock Harry off his pattern with a well placed swing of his staff, knocking Harry off his feet. He went skidding to the side, but was back on his feet in a heartbeat.

"How about we start taking this battle seriously, and you start using your actual power instead of just depending on the staves." Harry told Mystogan. Preparing to get serious himself.

Mystogan saw what Harry was doing, and the green aura flecked with black that was starting to form around him. He quickly planted his staves into the ground to use one of his higher level spells.

"Skyscraper" Mystogan let loose his illusion in hopes it would incapacitate Harry long enough to set up his most powerful spell.

Harry on the other hand, was impressed. He could sense the demonic creature in front of him wasn't real, he remembered the feel a real one gave off, but an illusion of this magnitude was a real accomplishment, especially when he hadn't sensed Mystogan using any of his own power.

Harry focused his god slayer magic in his stomach and let loose. "Death God's BELLOW!" Harry tore through the illusion and charged straight at the confused Mystogan, who was hurriedly setting up his next spell.

"Death God's STRIKE!" Harry called, swinging his fist straight at Mystogan's face, waiting for him to use his magic power, but Mystogan did nothing, Harry saw his eyes widen in panic. Harry froze his strike an inch in front of Mystogan's face.

"You don't have any magic power of your own, do you?" Harry asked him, Mystogan planted a final staff in the ground, ignoring his question. Magic circles formed over the two of them and when five formed Mystogan called out his strike.

"Five layered magic circle: SACRED SONG!" he called and a huge purple beam fell from above, destroying the roof of the cave before striking down on both Harry and Mystogan.

When the dust cleared, both Harry and Mystogan were standing, glaring at each other, Harry was ticked, Mystogan cheap shot him, and he wasn't happy, but the hit he just took left him battered and drained. Mystogan wasn't faring any better, he was having to use his full power against the boy, and said boy had withheld a strike Mystogan was almost sure would have killed him.

"You don't tell anyone about my magic, and I won't tell anyone you use Godslayer magic." Mystogan offered to Harry, who gave a slow nod, then collapsed, unconscious. Mystogan shook his head in disbelief. The kid was good, when Mystogan glanced back, he saw both torches were now lit.

Mystogan slung the unconscious Harry over his shoulder and carried him out to the master and the others.

"Mystogan, would you care to explain why you were using your full power against my apprentice?" Laxus was the first to greet Mystogan as he carried the unconscious Harry to the very top of Mount Hakobe, where master had a small cabin set up for medical attention.

"Harry defeated me while I used my full power, he withheld a killing blow, and not knowing he had done so, I used my most powerful spell. I conceded to him before he fell unconscious." Mystogan to the shock of everyone present except Laxus.

"He used 'it' didn't he." Laxus, grinning.

"Yes, and I was terrified, if he hadn't shown how responsible he was with his power, I believe he would be ten times worse than Natsu when it comes to destroying things." Mystogan told the others. He was met with shocked and terrified faces from most, and loud laughter from Laxus.

"Well, whether and not he truly defeated you, he did last the longest so I hereby announce Harry Potter and Fairy Tail's newest S-class mage." Makarov said with a cheesy smile.

Harry regained consciousness on the journey back to Fairy Tail, Laxus explained what Mystogan told them, and Harry quickly verified his statements. For the rest of the train ride home, Harry had to deal with glares from Erza, Mira, and surprisingly Cana.

When they got to the guild, Makarov made his announcement.

"We have a new S-class mage this year, but first for the overall placing of those who competed, In eighth place, Macao Conbolt." Wakaba burst out laughing at that announcement and only shut up when Macao used his fire magic to steal his pipe.

"Seventh place, Bickslow!"

"Sixth place, Evergreen!"

"Fifth place, Erza!" that caused many people's jaws to drop, and those who bet on Mira to start cheering.

"Fourth place, Mirajane!" that shut those cheers right up.

"Third place, Freed!" after this announcement, eyes were going between Cana and myself.

"And our newest S-class mage, Harry Potter!" at this announcement, everyone went silent, a silence which Natsu predictably broke.

"Harry, FIGHT ME!" he yelled and tried to punch Harry with a flaming fist. Harry groaned and sent lightning at Natsu's feet, making him fall flat on his face.

"Pass." Harry said calmly. "Laxus, I am going to my place for a bit to heal, alert me when you want to take a mission." Harry told Laxus and calmly walked out the door, leaving the cheers of 'PARTY' behind him.

It took a week and Laxus doing one mission by himself for Harry to fully heal. When he made it back to the guild, he came upon Laxus and Makarov argueing.

"The two of you are not ready for a mission of this caliber, I can't allow anyone except Gildarts to take a SSS ranked quest." master was yelling at Laxus, who was holding a request that Harry had to agree with the master, was too much for the two of them.

"We would be fine, Harry and me together could take any request here except maybe the century one Gildarts is thinking of taking." Laxus argued back, and Harry figured he needed to end this argument now.

"Laxus, master is correct, this request is too much for the two of us alone." He made his presence known, and Laxus shot him a glare. "But if we had a support team, like the three mages who are currently outside the door eavesdropping, then we could take on any SSS of less quest with ease." Harry countered, swinging open the door to reveal Evergreen, Bickslow and Freed, all in comical poses.

"Does that sound agreeable to you three?" Harry asked the trio of shocked mages.

"It sounds most agreeable, we were waiting for Laxus to offer to become his disciples. His power is unmatched and your own Harry is far beyond ours." Freed said, offering a small bow. Harry rolled his eyes, like Laxus needed these three to bolster his ego even more.

"I can agree to that arrangement." Laxus said with a grin and everyone turned to the master, who just groaned.

"Fine, just know you lot were warned of the consequences and such, now get out of here." Master complained and shooed them out of his office.

And so the Thunder God Tribe was born. Harry considered it to be his best Birthday yet, despite the fact no one, not even Laxus knew it was his Birthday.

 **Back on Earth.**

Dumbledore was panicking. Where was his savior, his martyr? According to his devices he was gone, not dead, just gone. How could leaving an unwanted child in an abusive environment for years lead to this!

"Albus, what are we going to do. There is no letter for Mr. Potter, which means he's dead! I told you leaving him with those terrible muggles was the wrong thing to do!" Minerva McGonagall was shouting at him and Dumbledore didn't have a real answer.

"According to the tracking devices and charms I had placed on him, he is not dead, he is simply missing. So we must act under the presumption that he has been taken and is being shielded from our magic. We will simply tell people we have taken him for special training with myself, while I say I am working on safe measures, I will devote myself entirely to finding the young Potter." Dumbledore said, and when McGonagall went to protest, he quickly and discreetly sent his self invented 'trust me' charm at her, saving his ears from the tongue lashing he was about to receive.

Dumbledore gave a sigh as McGonagall left his office. All he wanted was to have undying fame, rivers of gold, given to him by his devoted followers, and true immortality, was that really too much to ask for?

 **Ok, I fibbed, next chapter will catch things up to cannon, maybe even start battle of Fairy Tail, which is going to be awesome. I will have some interludes in the timeskip, but not much.**

 **Shout out to Phoenix of the Apocalypse who gave this story it's first review, you rock.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own HP or FT**

The next three years flew by for Harry. His stops at the guild remained minimal, only really being involved with other members during the S-class promotions of Erza and Mira.

Harry began to view the guild members differently though. Where he had once admired Cana and her inventiveness, all he saw now was a girl trying to drink away the fact she always wound up in second, never quite good enough, it didn't help that most of the guild encouraged her self destruction either.

Harry thought his and Laxus's 'fan club' who even went as far as to call themselves the Thunder God Tribe was a complete waste of space. None of them were truly gaining any power and experience, they were growing complacent, and Laxus let it happen because his own ego had grown far too large, even Harry couldn't deny that.

The biggest changes in the guild though, were in Mira and Natsu. Harry had been on a job during Lisanna's funeral, but when he got back with Laxus and the others, he could feel how down the guild was from its usual rowdy self.

When Makarov told them what happened, Laxus laughed until Harry decked him in the face and gave him a lecture in front of the whole guild about respecting the dead. While he was there, he saw everyone supporting Mira, who was completely crushed, to the point where she was letting her grief keep her from using her magic. Elfman too was holding himself back, but his magic was being restrained to a lesser degree.

The one reaction Harry was curious to see was the fire dragon slayer's. Even with his almost non existent time spent in the guild, Harry knew how close the two of them were, he was certain if they were older they would be dating, he was therefore surprised when he saw Natsu was the one supporting Mira and Elfman and Mira the most.

He told Laxus and the tribe to go on a mission without him. After they had left, he followed Natsu and the annoying blue cat as they left the guild for the day. He watched as Natsu sent the cat to a small hut that was built around a tree before he himself headed elsewhere.

Harry followed him to a small clearing where he found a small house made of thickly woven grasses, marked by a hand made tombstone in front of the entrance. He watched as Natsu took off his beloved scarf and wrapped it gently around the tombstone before sitting in front of it and let loose the water works.

Harry slowly approached him and sat beside him, gave him a shoulder to lean on. When Natsu finished crying he turned to Harry and asked the age old question.

"What do I do now, now that she's gone." he asked quietly. Harry took a moment before responding.

"How you choose to grieve is entirely up to you. Some people shut themselves off from the world, hold themselves in the past, others deny it, they convince themselves that the person they care about isn't gone, but still out there somewhere, and they search for them. Some people turn themselves inwards, letting themselves be filled with desire for revenge, making them cold to the world, robotic. It is all your choice, my advice is don't let it restrain you, don't let it control you and change who you are." Harry advised, Natsu pondered his words before answering.

"Who were they, the person you lost." he finally asked, shocking Harry slightly. Maybe the dragon slayer wasn't as dense as Harry first.

"Her name was Meredy, and she meant everything to me." he answered extremely quietly, knowing the sensitive hearing of the dragon slayer heard his every word.

Harry and Natsu sat side by side in front of the scarf adorned grave for almost an hour before Natsu spoke again. "You know, the two of us promised each other that if one of us went missing, the other would find them and bring them home again. From what Mira told me, Lisanna just dissolved into a golden light, there was no body. So I refuse to believe she's dead, I am going to find her and bring her home again." Natsu said in a steely tone. Harry had never heard this much determination from anyone, including himself.

"Then your first step would be using the intelligence you try to convince everyone you have none of." Harry commented, causing Natsu's jaw to drop.

"Nah, being carefree is a part of who I am, but maybe I should act a bit more seriously and not destroy stuff for fun." Natsu considered and Harry softly chuckled, no wonder the dragon slayer broke so much, he was trying to!

"You can be as carefree as you want Natsu, just know when it is time to be serious and when it's a good time to start a brawl." Harry told him as he got to his feet.

"Thanks Harry." Natsu said before his solemn expression turned into a grin, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you next time we fight."

"I would expect nothing less from a fellow slayer." Harry answered and left Natsu sputtering with this new information.

The next day as Harry lounged on the second floor, he watched as Natsu burst through the guild doors and proceeded to kick Gray in the face, sending him flying into Macao. And thus started the biggest guild brawl in history, neither Erza nor Makarov had it in them to stop them, especially after the former almost had a heart attack when he saw a small figure jump from the second floor, joining in his first brawl since arriving at the guild.

Harry could only laugh when he saw the Master's shocked expression, he wished he has a camera so he could show Laxus, he would have thought it was hilarious.

Two and a half more years passed without incident. Natsu stepped up in a big way, quickly becoming the best non S-class mage in the guild. Although he hadn't had a shot at the trials yet, Harry was sure he would win the next time they rolled around.

Mira had become the cheerful barkeep, although her temper could still be sparked by some of the more stupid guild members. Cana had become the most alcoholic person Harry had ever seen, including the Master.

What worried Harry though was Laxus was becoming more and more arrogant, refusing to see strength in any but himself, he would tear into the Tribe if they ever made even the tiniest mistakes. He was placing a divide between his group and the rest of the guild, not that Harry minded as he preferred being with fewer people, but he worried Laxus might go a step too far.

And one day while they were between that job, Harry watched Laxus begin taking the wrong path.

Harry and Laxus were relaxing on the second floor while the tribe went on a supply run in Magnolia when the distinct feeling of sleep magic settled over the guild. Harry rolled his eyes at Mystogan's actions. Harry gave Mystogan a nod from the second floor, which Mystogan returned. He gave the same gesture to Laxus, who scoffed. Harry couldn't help but frown at his mentor's actions.

When Mystogan left and everyone woke up, Harry overheard Gray telling some new member about Mystogan, and of course Laxus had to add his two cents.

"Oh I know all about little Mystogan, he's just shy is all. He doesn't mean anything by it." Laxus said to the new member.

"Who's that." she asked Gray.

"That would be Laxus, another contender for top mage in the guild." Gray answered, which of course Laxus had to respond to.

"I'm not a contender, I am the strongest in the guild, and you'd do best to remember that ice boy." Laxus laughed and Gray grumbled some choice words under his breath. Harry figured it was time to intervene.

"Laxus, you and I both know you can't beat Gildarts, and don't bother argueing that he isn't here, he's out doing a job that would get you and our whole team killed in less than a week, and he's doing it alone." Harry told him, joining Laxus at the railing, smirking lightly at his mentor's purpling face.

"Why is a kid telling off the scary guy." new girl asked Gray

"That would be Harry, Laxus's apprentice, and one of the S-class mages." Gray told her, leading to a question about S-class mages.

"An S-class mage are the top mages in a guild. To become S-class, one must first pass through a series of trials that are harder than any job. These trials take place once a year, and not every year has a winner." Erza answered matter-o-factly. " I was the winner two years ago and there have been no promotions to S-class since. The only S-class mages currently in the guild are myself, Laxus, Mystogan, Mira and Harry. One other mage, Gildarts, is dubbed the ace of the guild, meaning he is the most powerful, but he has been on the same job for three years now, the the title is considered open by some." Erza finished, glaring at Laxus. As Harry was about to intervene, Natsu jumped in and did the job for him.

"Fight me Laxus!" he called up to Laxus who laughed

"If you can't beat Erza yet, you don't stand a chance against me or Harry!" Laxus laughed. While Harry did agree with his assessment, he also knew Natsu never fought a comrade seriously, even in a spar. He had little doubt Natsu would be able to take Erza if they both fought full power, unfortunately, Natsu seemed to enjoy portraying the careless idiot who couldn't win a serious fight.

"Well come down here so we can see!" Natsu called back

"Why don't you come up here little dragon, or are you too scared!" Laxus answered, knowing full well Natsu couldn't go to the second floor.

Harry waited for Natsu to jump up to the second floor, but the dragon slayer calmed himself.

"One of these days Laxus, I will get you to fight me, just you wait. "Natsu called up to him before he stormed out of the guild, but not before Harry caught the glint in his eye that told Harry he had a plan, one that was probably going to land him in a lot of deep shit.

The next day Harry's theory was confirmed when Mira reported a missing S-class job and Laxus revealed it was Happy who took it. Harry groaned, Natsu could be both clever and dense at the same time.

Master sent Gray out after Natsu and when HE didn't come back either, Erza stormed out after them, a dark expression on her face.

Harry's group of five left the next day on a job, just a simple monster horde elimination when they heard the news. The guild Phantom Lord, our main competitor had basically gone to war with Fairy Tail. Mira had contacted Laxus via lacrima, but he scoffed and blew them off. While Harry usually agreed with Laxus, he thought Laxus should have at least told them about the full tribe of truck sized wolves that had them trapped in a cave and surrounded.

The Phantom Lord incident was the final straw though. Laxus declared when the wolves had been cleared out that he was going to take over Fairy Tail, and he began to plan his grand takeover.

He originally wanted to torch the entire guild hall using his Thunder Palace, but Harry talked him down to presenting a challenge to the members. One that would weed out the strong from the weak.

Evergreen came up with the idea to use all the girls of the guild as hostages while Freed would use rune sequences to trap members into fighting each other. Simple traps, a decent sized box that only allow one conscious person to leave it, thus leaving the better fighter free to continue.

Laxus, Freed and Evergreen planned extensively, going over every small detail, where to place the traps, as well as where each of us would be. Laxus refused to be anywhere but the cathedral, stating he would become guild master there, like he had sworn to Makarov years ago, when he started his 'I am better than thou' attitude.

Freed took the edges of town, if he lost early all the traps would fail, making the whole plan worthless. Similarly, Evergreen would be sticking to rooftops, using her wings to her advantage. Bickslow insisted on wandering the streets, and Harry would go to the power plant, where he originally wanted Laxus to go.

Freed came up with the idea to use the Fantasia parade as cover, to keep the army out of it. When the festival grew close, Freed started his runes while Laxus practiced his evil laugh. I already knew this wasn't going to go well. Laxus was underestimating most of the guild, and while most would waste their strength fighting each other, people like Natsu and Gray, maybe the ex-Phantom Lord members I heard joined would pull through and they would wreck havoc on the other three. If Freed got knocked out, guild members wouldn't have to worry about being trapped, and if Evergreen got knocked out, Erza would go on a rampage.

But what's done is done, and I was going through with these plans, after though, It's about time to think further ahead.

Evergreen set the plan in motion, managing to get Cana, Erza, Mira, book girl, some water mage, gun girl, and new girl. Freed's runes worked in keeping Makarov trapped and, for some reason, the dragon slayers as well. Another reason to not let Freed get defeated I guess.

Things started out well, Bickslow got to Gray and beat him with only minor difficulties, most members were tearing each other apart. The only standout to Harry was gun boy, who was fighting with a vengeance until he found Evergreen and got taken out, not that it was easy for Evergreen, who Harry personally was the weak link of the group.

The first sign of things going downhill was Harry watching Erza sprint out of the guildhall from a lacrima, somehow free from Evergreen's petrification magic, the second was Mystogan entering town and making a beeline for Harry.

Harry mentally prepared himself for Mystogan, he couldn't use his god slayer magic because it would instantly kill the man, but ever since his S-class trial, Harry had been preparing for a rematch with Mystogan, one he wouldn't lose, despite what Mystogan had told the master.

"You can't possibly agree with this madness Harry, you are far to composed and calm an individual for something this preposterous, so I will give you this one chance to join the right side in this fight." Mystogan said to Harry when he arrived at the power plant,but got a head shake in response

"Sorry Mystogan, while it is true I think Laxus is completely barking up the wrong tree here, I figured failing now would help make him a better person later in his life. By stopping his arrogance now, he turns away from a dark path he was heading down, the same path as his father if stories are to be believed." Harry answered, letting his electricity flow, empowering himself with the energy from his surroundings.

"So we are to fight?" Mystogan questioned, drawing two of his staves.

"I have wanted a rematch with you for quite some time Mystogan. You showed me a flaw in my fighting, my dependance on a lethal and dangerous magic, one that should be used as little as possible, for nothing good comes from death magic. So prepare yourself, if you truly believe you stand a chance against Laxus, then you must first defeat me!" Harry intoned with his robotic voice, and with that last remark, he cloaked his fists in green lightning and shot forward, as if he was running on lightning itself.

Harry landed a few solid fists on Mystogan before he could react, but Mystogan finally got his feet set and started using his staves to deflect Harry's strikes, not ever taking the full brunt of one of the charged fists. While Mystogan played defensive, Harry maneuvered him into a field of electric towers, and when Mystogan was right where Harry wanted him, he let his power flow into the towers and used them as conductors for a multi directional strike, sending seven bolts of jade lightning into Mystogan from all sides.

As Harry predicted, Mystogan blocked three with his mirror water technique, but the other four caught him cleanly, dealing massive amounts of damage to the magicless mage.

When the dust cleared, Mystogan was barely standing, leaning on one of his staves heavily, burns adorning the majority of his body, his mask being his most complete piece of clothing remaining.

"You have indeed improved, that combined with your tactical choice in field has made you victor this day." Mystogan told Harry before he collapsed, unconscious.

Harry grimaced. He didn't want to fight Mystogan under these conditions. He had manipulated his opponent and led him straight into his trap. While Mystogan was incredibly skilled, he had been played expertly.

As Harry took in his surroundings, he took note of the melted towers. He wouldn't be able to pull another all directional blast like that one, but that didn't matter, Mystogan was the only one he couldn't use his godslayer magic against.

Harry jumped over to the roof of the building and used his viewing lacrima to look at happenings elsewhere.

Erza had swiftly taken out Evergreen, freeing the other girls, who were making a mess of things.

New girl defeating Bickslow was a major shock, but Harry supposed he could have been tired from handling Gray, but that was unlikely, she probably had a good counter magic, or kept Bickslow from getting new dolls once his first set were destroyed.

It took water girl, Cana, and a reawakened Mira to take Freed down, and even then, all three were taken out for their effort, although Harry figured that was because by the time Mira showed up, the other two had already been defeated and then, despite being incredibly rusty, took out Freed singlehandedly.

What bothered Harry though was Laxus had activated Thunder Palace, completely ignoring the consequences that would come if it went off, which included being branded a dark wizard, bounties on his head, and the Magic Council all over his ass in a matter of hours.

Harry had played Laxus's game, had supported his mentor, but when innocent people came under fire, he drew the line.

Harry almost smirked as he sprinted off to the cathedral. Time for his final examination.

 **So, while Harry is stronger than Mystogan, it was only that easy and short because he used his genius super computer like mind.**

 **Merry Christmas to everyone, and, to myself, celebrating another year older. Yeah, I have a winter break birthday, it's both awesome and suck at the same time.**

 **Next chapter should be up to Tenrou, like, just before stuff happens. And while I did rush through battle of Fairy Tail, I couldn't really change too much as they barely win in the first place. And in case you couldn't tell from the way I'd been treating him, I don't like Bickslow.**

 **Harry goes full godslayer power next chapter, taking on Laxus. Which means a full range on Harry's powers. If enough people review and ask, I'll put a spell list for Harry's godslayer at the bottom of the next chapter. I also want to do something similar to dragon force, but for god slayers, not sure what to call it though, and what abilities to give it, but I'll think of something.**

 **Meredy will be back soon, which means a start to the real storyline pretty soon, which means an emergence in more human emotions for Harry, as well as healthy amounts of scheming.**

 **I am doing Nali side pairing, but it will be almost unnoticeable, Harry doesn't really think of others too much. It's mainly there to serve as a connecting point between Harry and Natsu, and to make Natsu stronger than he is in the anime, if only slightly.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own HP or FT**

 **Read AN at end for spell list and timeline**

When Harry made it to the Cathedral, he found Laxus smacking Erza around with relative ease, but Erza still would land a clean hit on him now and again, shown through the long cuts on both of Laxus's arms, and a healthy sized slash that had destroyed his fur cloak, making a cut across his back.

Erza was doing better than Harry had thought she would, at this rate Laxus would lose his temper and start using his dragon slayer powers, then she'd be in trouble. Harry figured it was time to step in.

"You're going too far Laxus, take down the Thunder Palace, now." Harry confronted Laxus, who turned and scowled at Harry.

"No, I haven't gone far enough, you can't see it anymore, but I'm making the guild stronger, BY TEARING IT DOWN BRICK BY BRICK THEN REBUILDING IT IN MY IMAGE, A PLACE WHERE ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE!" Laxus bellowed, his magic filling the room, Erza was caught off guard by how powerful Laxus was, but Harry shook his head sadly.

"It is you who is blinded Laxus, and I refuse to follow someone who cannot see the strength that it right before their eyes. So consider this my official resignation from your little boy band that follows you around." Harry told him coldly, letting his magic aura flare, but not his electrical aura, his true aura, an aura of cold death.

"What is this magic?" Erza asked

"Did you really think Laxus took me as his apprentice because I knew some lightning parlor tricks and had different colored lightning, no, this is my true power." Harry said before facing the angered Laxus.

"Death Gods STRIKE!" Harry called and shot towards Laxus, his fist covered by his swirling cold slayer magic.

Laxus turned into lightning and dodged easily by turning into lightning and slipping away, but Harry was expecting that and had a blast ready. "Death God's BELLOW!" he called just as Laxus touched down, scoring a direct hit on the lightning mage.

"Whoah, nice hit Harry!" a severely beaten Natsu called to him as he burst into the cathedral.

"What happened to you Natsu?" Erza asked, snapped out of her shock.

"A rune trap got my and Gajeel, but I beat metal head, no way was I passing up a shot at Laxus, good to see you on our side though Harry!" Natsu told Harry, his eyes glinting with a hint of warning that Harry picked up on quickly.

"I can handle fighting with guild members, but when Thunder Palace went up is when I decided Laxus needed to go down." Harry answered before turning back to the furious Laxus.

"I've had enough, you want to know a secret Natsu, you and me have more in common than you know." Laxus said with a grin before he took a deep breath, Harry momentarily panicked, but got out of the way in time.

"Lightning Dragon's ROAR!" Laxus yelled and shot his roar straight down the center of the cathedral. Harry and Natsu got away in time, but Erza got blasted through a wall, knocked out cold by a single shot.

"I think it's time to get serious Natsu." Harry told the pink haired teen and Natsu nodded.

"I couldn't think of a better occasion." Natsu agreed, letting his magic explode out of him, giving off an aura weaker Laxus and Harry's, but slightly stronger than Erza.

"Oh, so you were hiding your power, didn't think you had it in you flame brain." Laxus laughed as his muscles began to swell, patterns like scales grew on his face and arms, his eyes turning white as his power grew again. Laxus tore what was left of his shirt off as he maxed out his power. Dragon force.

"Can you do that too, cause that would make this a whole lot easier?" Harry asked Natsu, who shook his head.

"Not without getting some kind of major power boost, only time I've done it before was after eating pure etherion lacrima, and that made me sick for over a week afterwards, but I can do this." Natsu said, cracking his neck.

"Firedrive." He said calmly, matching Harry's own power level. It was impressive, not as much as dragon force, but it was powerful enough that Natsu would tie Harry on his best day. Harry's thesis of god slayer magic having something similar would have to wait though, as Laxus had grown bored of waiting and started blasting lightning at a fast pace.

Harry leapt back, dodging most of the blasts, but one caught him in the shoulder and sent him flying back. Natsu had fared better, as he was more durable than Harry, avoided most of the hits, but the few that got through didn't faze him.

The next few minutes were spent with Harry and Natsu and Harry going as hard as they could to try and avoid Laxus's constant strikes.

"This isn't working Harry, we need to work together if we want to stand a chance!" Natsu called to him and Harry gave a nod in agreement and started trying to sync his motions with that of the dragon slayer.

It took a few tries, but Harry finally slipped in close enough to land a Death God's strike in Laxus's gut, sending him back. Natsu quickly jumped in with a wing attack of his own.

Harry and Natsu pressed their advantage, Natsu working from a distance with his Fire Dragon's Wing Attack and Harry up close, where his greater speed kept him one step ahead of Laxus, his Death God's strikes raining down on Laxus.

"Enough of this, Lightning Dragon's ROAR!" Laxus called and sent a blast at Harry, who dodged fluidly, but Harry wasn't Laxus's target as the roar collided with the unprepared Natsu, sending him flying back. Harry's split second hesitation led to Laxus getting in a free shot, backhanding him into the slowly rising Natsu.

"Death God's STAKE" Harry called, and let loose a barrage of pointed death magic spikes, keeping Laxus down long enough for Natsu to recover.

As the three were about to jump back into their fight, one of Freed's runes popped up, displaying a timer that read ten minutes.

"You brats are almost out of time and you've barely put a dent on me, I am going to take over Fairy Tail, even if that means starting from scratch!" Laxus laughed, but was cut off by Levy bursting in.

"Laxus stop this, Porlyusica sent for you, it's your Grandfather, she's saying he might not make it much longer." Levy was near hysterics, but she got her message out.

Harry watched Laxus closely, this could go one of two ways. This was Laxus's choice, the path he would go down. Harry watched his eyes and saw the conflict within Laxus, he saw one side trump the other. In that moment, Harry knew Laxus knew his path, his goal.

"Hahaha HAHAHA!" Laxus started laughing, "That's perfect, no one can stop me now, I just wrap things up here and then I'm guild master, goodbye weak old Fairy Tail, hello new and stronger Fairy Tail, HAHAHA" Laxus had seemingly gone mad, and for those who didn't know him closely, he was completely power tripping, but Harry saw what lie beneath the surface, the cogs turning in Laxus's mind.

"So I'm going to make this quick, I'll end you both with one spell, the same spell that made Fairy Tail famous!" Laxus laughed, positioning his palms across from each other in an off set form. Only one spell known used that stance.

"Get ready Natsu, Harry, you're about to feel real strength!" Laxus yelled, a ball of golden light forming between his palms, steadily growing bigger.

"Laxus stop!" Natsu tried to stop the master's grandson, but he was too late!

"FAIRY LAW!" Laxus called, letting loose an enormous blast of light magic. When the light cleared, Natsu, Harry and Levy were still standing, while Natsu and Levy were shocked, Harry smirked. He was certain that elsewhere in Magnolia a certain guild master was suddenly feeling a lot better.

"Fairy Law is a tricky spell Laxus, I studied it alongside you. The user must reach out with their heart at their true enemy, and if the heart wavers, the spell fails, and drains one's magic in great amounts, your enemy isn't Fairy Tail Laxus, it never was. The one thing you despise more than anything is weakness in others, so if anything, you just gave everyone in the guild a power boost." Harry told Laxus, who let a crooked smile slip through his crazed facade for a split second before going back to raving.

"It doesn't matter, Thunder Palace is still active and you only have seven minutes to beat me!"

"Not with this Laxus, Death God's Secret Art, CURSED CANDLE!" Harry called. The spell didn't explode, but instead the form of two black candles, lit by purple flames hovered over both Laxus and Harry's heads. The flames moved quickly down the wick, growing in intensity.

"This is over Laxus. My cursed candle is a move that takes two minutes to develop, but if the two mages under the spell are both standing when the times runs out, it drains them both of their magic almost completely, enough that anymore hits from my godslayer magic will end them permanently. You have two minutes Laxus, so hit me with everything you have." Harry challenged, letting his passion flow, dropping his robotic visage.

"Well then Harry, let's see if the student had truly surpassed the master!" Laxus yelled and both Harry and Laxus charged each other, fists and feet blazing with their respective slayer magic. Natsu wisely stayed back, realizing his part in this fight was done.

Laxus and Harry clashed ferociously, trading Lightning dragon's hard fists and Death god's strikes. Matching their magic power, drop for drop.

Laxus was the one to disengage from the brawl first, then started with the ranged attacks. "Lightning Dragon's ROAR!"

"Death God's BELLOW!"

Harry was fast to counter. The two traded long shots, Laxus using blasts of lightning that move hard and fats in a single strike, and Harry maneuvering around them with quick sprays of his Death God's Stakes. The occasional roar/bellow was traded, but at a much less frequent pace.

When Laxus and Harry finally stopped blasting each other, the candles over each of their heads was down to a nub, enough for one last trading of blows.

"Bring your best shot Harry, prove to me the strength I saw in you all those years ago, don't be weak like one of these Fairy wimps!" Laxus told Harry, who openly laughed for the first time in years.

"You want my best shot Laxus, well here it is!" Harry called back. Both mages paused a second, letting their attacks form, the calm before the storm.

"LIGHTNING DRAGON'S SECRET ART: ROARING THUNDER!"

"DEATH GOD'S SECRET ART: FALLEN ANGEL!"

Laxus leapt forward, his entire right arm seemed to be made of lightning as he swung it at Harry. Harry had formed an avatar of death magic in front of him. It had a simple feminine form of pitch black, from it's shapely legs to its midnight wings. It had no face, just a blank slate, like it was wearing a blank mask with no features. It mimicked Harry's double punch straight at Laxus.

The following explosion ripped through the cathedral, blasting one of the side walls into nothingness. Both Laxus and Harry stood across from each other, waiting for the other to fall. That wouldn't happen though as the candles over each of their heads died out simultaneously, sending both mages into oblivion.

 **Whoah, a completely combat based chapter. Shorter, I know, but not for some explanations.**

 **Firstly, death godslayer magic. My interpretation of Harry's magic is he got close enough to touch death, but it didn't claim him, enabling him to use his magic. The entire premise of death magic, god slayer or otherwise is a draining magic. Seeing how Zeref's uncontrolled magic outbursts on Tenrou would wither the plant life, I thought it looked like the life was sucked out of them, same with Zancrow when he got hit. So what Harry's magic does is it hits both the physical and magical form of a person. So if he were to hit someone from Edolas, and a muggle, they would die, flat out die. The more magic a person has, the more hit they can take.**

 **Harry's spells**

 **Advanced lightning magic** -

While not his main magic, which means no move calling, Harry still is a low level S-class mage in terms of power, mid tier S-class in terms of skill with lightning magic.

 **Death Godslayer magic** -

 **Skill** -high SS class level skill

 **Power** -high SS class level power

Harry's skill and power are much better than with his lightning magic. He probably could take Jellal, Jura, or Zero using this magic, but he has to keep it hidden. Not as good as Laxus's power,

 **Techniques-**

 **Strike**

A death magic covered punch and kick, basic move with base power

 **Coffin Nail**

A death magic charged knee and elbow. Move power than strikes, but harder to land a clean hit with.

 **Stakes**

A splitter shot of small, accurate death magic spikes that vaguely resemble tent spikes. Used for covering a large area at high speeds, but has low power.

 **Bellow**

Standard slayer breathe attack, looks like swirling black mass of power, with a slight green tinge to it.

 **Scythe**

A kill shot move. Harry forms a solid scythe of pure death magic and slices his opponent with it. Massive damage, but requires knowledge in weapons to use properly, good for execution though. cough...Reaper...cough.

 **Pulse**

An all directional black wave of low powered death magic, basically what Zeref keeps accidentally releasing on Tenrou, except he drives the power of those things through the roof, normally a weaker strike, but has a high knock back.

 **Skull Eater**

A headbutt that projects a purple skull shaped helmet around the user, high power, but has a slight recoil on the physical side of the magic, leaving the user temporarily dizzy and stunned.

 **Secret Arts-**

 **Cused Candle**

A timer limit move that looms like a black candle floating above the caster and their opponent's heads. When two minutes passes, both the caster and opponent are left completely drained, but if a victor is decided before then, the candles fade without taking effect.

 **Fallen Angel**

Harry's current ace spell, there will be one better in the future. Summons a faceless, angel with black wings that Harry had copy his movements. It is made of pure death magic, and as such, simply touching it causes damage, while actual attacks are devastating.

 **Timeline wise. Harry is 13, almost 14 as of this chapter. Tenrou arc will align with summer before fourth year, hint hint nudge nudge. Next chapter will be not as Harry centric, instead bouncing around to other points, like back on Earth and Meredy's last 6 years as Harry and Meredy were separated at age 8.**

 **Timeline**

1981- harry 1- left at dursleys

1986- harry 6- portal to Earthland, meets Meredy

1988-harry 8- Grimoire heart attacks, Harry gets into Fairy tail

1992- Harry just turned 11- S-class

1995- Harry 13, before his 14th birthday, like in marchish- battle of fairy tail

More events will be added later, but those might ruin some surprises I have in store if I add them now.

 **I'd do a fairy tail years timeline, but i'm too lazy.**

 **Hope this helped people who choose to read it, if no one does, oh well, I can use it as reference to make things easier for myself later.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own HP or FT**

 **Harry POV**

When Harry woke up, he was in his his all time least favorite place ever in history. An infirmary.

Harry slowly got up and hopped off bed he was in and flexed a bit. He had quite a few electrical burns, along with a few broken ribs, but he had been in worse condition before.

Harry looked around the infirmary and saw both Freed and Evergreen were down, out, and seriously messed up. Mira and Erza really laid into the pair of them. The only other occupants of the hospital beds were a few random guild members, Natsu, Gray, thankfully both asleep, and Laxus himself.

Laxus was sitting in a chair, staring out a window. He looked similar to a mummy with all the bandages on him, but Harry knew it was nothing overly serious.

"You were right Harry, I was blind. All I saw were individuals who weren't like myself, who weren't strong as me. I couldn't see the big picture, the sum of the parts. Fairy Tail, as a whole, is one tough son of a bitch. Attacking them is not something I want to try ever again." Laxus said in a soft voice to Harry, but he still faced the window.

Harry joined him at the window, looking out over Magnolia as the events of the Fantasia took place, all leading up to the parade that night.

"So what are you going to do now. I'm sure you're going to get thrown out, that leaves a world of possibilities for you." Harry asked Laxus

"I'm going to wander, just loose myself in the world. Visit some landmarks, enjoy just living. I've spent far too long focused on proving myself to people who don't matter. And what about you, are you going to stick around once I'm gone?" Laxus asked his now former apprentice.

"I made a promise years ago, you know that, and now that I'm finally strong enough, I'm going to start my journey. I know I will always have a home here when I'm done if I choose to return, but until then, I think I'm going to leave." Harry said.

"I figured as much, I'd be worried about would happen to the guild with two S-class members leaving, but Mira got her fire back and Natsu is a more than capable replacement than I think anyone realizes." Laxus chuckled, glancing over at the sleeping slayer.

"He doesn't want to be burdened with the responsibility that having power holds, so he restrains himself. He is learning slowly, I think when Makarov finally retires, he'd make a good master, better than you would anyway." Harry teased while Laxus held his hand over his heart.

"Oh the pain, the horror, my own former student turns against me the first chance he gets." Laxus joked and both Harry and Laxus chuckled softly. It had been a long time for both of them since they were this carefree.

"Time to talk to gramps I guess." Laxus said, getting up from his seat.

"I'm going with you, I don't think the rest of the guild will want you near him for quite a while." Harry said. And with that the two made their into the main area of the guild. They were met with silence and cold glares.

"Where is the master?" Harry asked. His request was met with silence. Erza finally came forward and met his gaze carefully, then turned her stare to Laxus.

"He's in his office." she said after a long silence. Some of the members started a loud protest, but the were silenced by a glare form Mira.

Harry and Laxus both entered the master's office quietly, finding the old man in a bathrobe staring out his window.

"Laxus, I think you know what I'm going to have to do now." Makarov said softly, still facing the window.

"I know, and I know it's for the best." Laxus said solemnly.

"I too plan on leaving the guild master. I made a promise to a friend, years ago, but until now I didn't have to the power to fulfill it. I don't want any of my actions to possibly reflect poorly on the guild, so I wish to leave." Harry told the master.

"Very well, although it breaks my heart to have such a strong mage leave, I understand the need to handle business away from the light." Makarov said, his voice stern. "Remember this you two. There are rules when you leave this guild. First, You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live, Second, you must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain. Finally, Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live. Got that Harry, you will always have a home here, and Laxus, we here at Fairy Tail wish you good luck in your future, despite our differences in the past." Makarov's eyes were brimming with tears at this point. Harry knew this was a family moment, so he left the office quietly after his guild mark had been removed.

Most of the guild was focused on the upcoming parade, so Harry managed to slip out unnoticed. He gathered his belongings and informed his landlord of his departing. He put on his large hooded cloak over his bag and set off for the edge of town.

When he reached the edge of town, he was met by Mystogan, who looked like a large mummy in a mask.

"I do apologize for my cheap fighting tactic, maybe next time our spar will end differently." Harry told Mystogan, who shrugged.

"I don't mind, our first battle ended similarly. I have come to ask if you have truly left the guild?" Mystogan asked, Harry just nodded.

"I have a job to do, a friend to avenge, I will have to travel a darker path for a time and I do not want the actions of one to stain the guild's reputation." Harry told Mystogan, who nodded.

"I too have a task I carry out, being part of a guild gives me a sense of security though, I was wondering if you would travel with me for a time, we could aid each other in our tasks?" Mystogan asked Harry, who thought for a good minute before shaking his head.

"I'll pass, my job is going to take me places to honest man would ever want to go. I plan to infiltrate and destroy Grimoire Heart."

 **Meredy POV**

As Meredy reflected her life, she found herself wishing she had a better plan.

She remembered the day her life fell apart, how her home began to burn and her best friend sacrificed himself to save her. She remembered how Zancrow had stolen the key from her and run off. She remembered how crushed she felt when he returned saying some kid had been killed fighting Reaper, their leader, but had killed Reaper in his final breaths.

Meredy knew it was Harry, he had drawn the leader out so she could live. She stood there, the lone survivor in a burning city, and she cried. She let all her emotions flow. Sometime in, a woman had found her. She had been kind to her, like the mother she had never known.

Ultear brought her back to Grimoire and convinced her Master Hades that she could be of use to him, that she had already found the key and given it to them. It was an embellishment, but it kept Meredy alive, so she was grateful. When Meredy heard Zancrow tell Master Hades of Reaper's demise at the hands of 'an unknown child', she started to cry again.

Ultear had taken her to a room and hugged her again, comforting her when she needed it most. Meredy told Ultear her story, about Harry, his sacrifice. Ultear confided in her her own sorrows. Her want for a mother that didn't want her, that sent her to be tortured. That night Ultear and Meredy made a bond, a pact. They would help each other find the person they had lost again, they wouldn't be true members of Grimoire Heart, but phantoms within the system, tearing down the war machine for their own goals.

In the following years, she trained with Ultear, learning a lost magic called Maguilty Sense. It allowed her to directly attack the electric charges of a person's nervous system. She learned to link people together and to create physical weapons of what was effectively pure pain.

When she was older, Master Hades promoted her to one of his Seven Kin of Purgatory. It was then she adopted her serious uncaring visage. She had used her new rank to start undermining certain operations the guild was trying to accomplish. Whether It was sending an anonymous note to someone who was due to be assassinated, or rigging a bomb to explode while it was still being transported. Little things that couldn't be tied back to her. Her magic made everything easier. Unknown to everyone but Ultear, she could her magic to temporarily deceive someone's senses, blind them, make them deaf or mute, and her personal favorite, force them to feel certain emotions, like trusting and believing her white lies.

But the other Kin, Bluenote, and the Master himself were unaffected by these tricks, so unless she was alone or with Ultear, she kept on her mask of aloofness and pure devotion to the guild, acting like a computer programmed only to serve.

Now here she was, holding a sheet of paper that told her that one of her most central truths was wrong. That Harry was still alive.

It started when Master Hades ordered the Kin to learn everything they could about the current active members of Fairy Tail, Gray Fullbuster, one of the highest on Ultear's kill list among them. Meredy took her usual view of going above and beyond and looked into members who were still alive, but had left the guild.

The list was long and included a good number of powerful people, such as Blue Pegasus's master as well as Quatro Cerberus's. The current master's grandson was a powerhouse and it was fortunate for them he had left, but after his page, Meredy noticed a page in her briefing packet had been torn out. It was the same for Ultear as well.

Meredy was on a warpath, someone had stolen that sheet, someone was hiding something. She found her way into the research department and demanded a reprint of that page. The original data file was missing. It took a week of hand sorting of raw reports until Meredy found a name that wasn't in any other report.

Harry Potter.

He was mentioned in a footnote of a report on Laxus Dreyar, there was no description of him, but the name was enough. Seeing a sliver of proof of her best friend set a fire in Meredy that she wouldn't let get put out, she had to find out what Fairy Tail knew about Harry, if he was still alive.

Meredy snuck into Fairy Tail, the belly of the beast itself, and went through their records. There she found everything. His entrance into the guild about a month after they were separated. His clearance of the S-class exams, and finally his departure from the guild. Meredy was so overjoyed she allowed a true smile to show on her face for the first time in years.

But Hades pressed on, not giving her time to act on the information, to look for Harry. They moved later that week for Tenrou island, the sacred ground of Fairy Tail and where Hades was certain Zeref was hidden. As they flew closer, Ultear, Meredy, and a tricked Zancrow convinced Hades to not allow Bluenote to be a part of the initial assault.

As the kin minus Azuma prepared to descend on the island as Hades confronted the angered Makarov Dreyar, Meredy felt something off, a tingling feeling. She glanced back at the men under her command and noticed there were fewer than she expected, the same went for the other landing parties as well.

It seemed Zancrow noticed as well and was going to comment, but Zoldeo's magic spheres closed around them and the invasion began.

Meredy landed near Ultear and they both sent their men out to wreck havoc. Meredy knew Azuma and Zancrow would target the more powerful mages on the island, Kain would blunder around like a drunken sumo, Zoldeo would be hunting down the Heartfilia girl while Rusty would simply wander while taking the beauty of the tropical island, stopping only to take out anyone he found.

Meredy stuck with Ultear for a while before the sounds of combat began, more specifically, Zancrow's flames and crazed laughter.

Meredy and Ultear separated as they heard some of the fairy tail mages approaching. Ultear delved deeper through the island while Meredy stayed behind to buy her time to find Zeref.

When the footsteps reached her, Meredy faced off against a pair of cats and dragonslayers.

Wendy Marvell, Natsu Dragneel, and their respective animals.

"Halt, I cannot allow you to pass me, my comrade reaches closer to our goal as we speak, so turn away now before you no longer can target 19 Wendy Marvell and target 6 Natsu Dragneel." Meredy said in her robotic tone as she confronted the slayers.

"Yeah, and who the hell are you?" Natsu asked, a scowl on his face. Underestimating her due to her age, a mistake he would regret.

"I am Meredy one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, the most powerful members of Grimoire Heart, and I will not allow you to pass." she told them and watched as both cats and the little girl's face grew grim while the fire dragon slayer grew pensive for a second.

"I've heard that name somewhere before…" he muttered softly, but quickly snapped back into focus.

"So you're one of the strongest seven huh, then this should be fun." Natsu grinned and prepared to charge, but Wendy stopped him.

"You have to keep going Natsu, that scent you recognized could get away and if Grimoire Heart has one of their best guarding it then you have to keep going, I'll take care of her, you have to keep going." Wendy insisted and Meredy was surprised, according to the files, Wendy wasn't as brave as her guild mates and was the youngest on the island, thus dubbing her the lowest priority target, just behind the script mage and the alcoholic card mage.

"Are you sure you can take her?" Natsu asked the younger dragon slayer as Meredy watched curiously, letting the higher priority target chase after Ultear was a risk, but if she could use her sensory links on the young girl, she might be able to net a much more powerful target, so she let the two argue for a short while until Natsu ran off, leaving the two cats behind with the sky maiden.

"You called me target 19, what did that mean?" Wendy asked Meredy, settling into an uncertain fighting stance, backed by the two cats.

"I have ranked priority of every Fairy Tail mage expected to be on the island, not counting the insignificant creatures of course," she said as she gestured to the cats. "There were 19 mages on this island originally, you are target 19, the weakest of all Fairy Tail mages present, I fully expected you to be defeated by the grunts, but here you are." Meredy said in derisive tone.

"I may not be the strongest mage on the island, but I'm still a dragon slayer, you shouldn't underestimate me." Wendy growled and shot towards Meredy in a blast of wind.

"Sky dragon's crushing fang!" she called and shot her hand forward in a claw like stance, lengths of wind trailing behind it. Meredy quickly leapt back and sent a wave of maguilty sodom at the slayer, but Wendy quickly dodged and started to use her enchantments.

"Vernier...Arms...Armor!" she chanted quickly as a magic glow covered her. Meredy scoffed, the constant drain on the little girl's magic would be too much for her to bear.

"Sky dragon's ROAR!" the girl let loose a large torrent of air, causing Meredy to quickly move out of the way, weaving her way around the blast, empowering her own body with her magic, giving her hyper awareness to match the speed boost she knew the dragon slayer had received.

"Sky dragon's claw!" she heard from behind her, despite her confidence, Wendy placed a solid kick straight into Meredy's gut as she turned, knocking her back into a tree.

"So you do have the power of a dragon slayer, the heat of battle flows through you, it helps you feel connected to the fire and iron dragon slayers, doesn't it, it gives you family." Meredy said with a smirk, working her magic quickly targeting Wendy's feelings of family with the other dragon slayers.

The sensory links shot out, one latched itself to Wendy's wrist, catching her off guard, and two others flew off across the island.

"What was that?" Wendy asked, staring at the magic marks now around her wrist.

"My magic is a lost magic known as Maguilty Sense, it allows me to directly target the nervous system of my enemies, the spell I just used made use of your feelings for the other dragon slayers. My sensory link spell chains the three of you together, so if one of you were to be hurt, all three would feel it, if one of you died, all three of you would die." Meredy told the young girl in a monotone. Meredy's fear tactic was definitely working, she could see it in the girl's face, and while it was true that all of them would die if one did, she had no plans to kill anyone, much less a girl her own age, maybe even younger.

"Then I'll just have to beat you, for my family." the sky maiden told her in a determined voice, which Meredy smirked at.

"But it's not just you anymore, if either of the other two happen to be in a fight, and one of them takes a hit, all of you feel it, throwing you off your game, then a second person takes a hit, and so the cycle continues until none of you can defend yourselves." Meredy let irrational fear fill the girl, the less power she had to use now the better.

"It's not going to matter, Happy, you and Carla go find Natsu and Gajeel, tell them about this, so they at least know what's going on." Wendy begged the two Exceeds. Carla hesitated, but Happy answered for the both of them.

"Aye Sir!" and with that the blue cat grabbed Carla and sped off, his wings going full power.

"It doesn't matter, not when you are about to lose right now." Meredy said with a smirk and summoned a pair of her sodom and charged, swinging the blades with a practiced ease with Wendy struggled to keep up. Her magic was lowering steadily as she fought to maintain her enchantments.

"So your magic linked me to Natsu and Gajeel right?" Wendy asked, countering a sodom with a few well placed blasts of wind.

"Yes." Meredy didn't like the look the girl had in her eyes.

"Then let's see how linked we are. SKYFIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Wendy let loose and a torrential blast of fire filled with swirling wind shot out of her mouth, freezing Meredy where she stood. She had never thought that could be a result of her magic.

Meredy took the full blast of the Unison Raid, knocking her back into the forest. She was going to drop the link magic, cutting off Wendy from the other two slayers, when the girl gave a cry of pain and collapsed in a heap, unconscious.

Meredy gave a sigh of relief, she knew her sensory link could be a double edged sword if she linked herself to someone, but to draw off another person's magic like the child had, she had to rethink her entire method using her sensory link, it could really bite her in the ass some day, like it almost just did.

Meredy quickly undid the link on the three slayers and was on her way, looking for both Zeref and information on Harry. With those targets in mind, she set out, looking for the Thunder God Tribe.

 **Harry POV**

Infiltrating Grimoire Heart was ridiculously easy, Harry almost laughed. All he had to do was find some grunt, beat up a rune knight in front of them with some magic, and bam, he was invited in.

He spent his days getting into everything he wasn't supposed to, playing the stupid grunt who couldn't do anything right, pulling a Natsu inspired act. That got him bumped around to all parts of the guild, giving him access to everything.

While he was in the records department, he managed to steal the files on the Seven Kin of Purgatory, the strongest members in Grimoire Heart.

The files themselves were gruesome, Zancrow, a pyromaniac that made Natsu look peaceful, Rustyrose, who had killed hundreds of women because they didn't compliment his 'beauty', Kain Hikaru, nothing really bad on him, just a bunch of unpaid food bills, Zoldeo, a messed up magician who used human enslavement magic on a celestial spirit, giving him the body of a goat, Azuma, who Harry had seen around the air base, proclaiming to be a noble warrior who the grunts could look up too, but the files called him a rapist and a sociopath who took pleasure in slaughtering anyone who had enough power to challenge him.

The last two were marked separately, Hades had both of them labeled as high risk, meaning Harry might be able to sway them to his side if he found the right buttons.

The first was Ultear Milkovich, who the reports said had been given to researchers to find a way to control her immense magic power, only for them to tell her mother she was dead and have her magic core increased even more. She had managed to escape the facility and was found by Hades, who promised her to get her mother back, which Harry knew was a lie.

The last file made Harry's eyes water with tears of joy. Meredy. She was alive after all these years. Harry gave her file a quick glimpse, not looking too hard, he didn't want to know Meredy only because of her file, he wanted to find his friend again.

And with that he sent out to find where she was in the base. He stuck with his routine of messing up the reports and mission briefings, as well as deleted himself from their entire database, he wanted to keep the element of surprise, even if it meant hiding from Meredy for a little longer.

When the official announcement for the next big mission, Harry didn't know whether to burst out laughing and just face palm. Attacking Fairy Tail's holy ground, during its S-class missions was suicide, but Harry still did his part to mess things up. Which included tricking a bunch of grunts down to the lowest level of the ship and dropping them into the ocean. He also sent a discreet message to someone else he knew would appreciate the heads up.

And when the invasion was about to begin, he saw Meredy for the first time again in person for the first time in almost six years. The first thing Harry noticed was how flat her expression was, her eyes looked like the life had been sucked right out of them. Her posture was stiff and gave off an aura that showed that she acted nothing like her age. She looked like he did when he put on his mask, and for the first time, he understood why people told him the way he acted worried them, seeing someone who was hardly a teen acting like an old person was just strange to watch.

Although Harry was supposed to be one of the grunts deployed to the island, he had fiddled with his own orders so he was one of the grunts guarding the ship, he had a much more important target to hit than any one member, the demon's heart.

As soon as the master left to fight Makarov and the kin had deployed, he snuck down to the heart room and set up a small scale thunder palace directly surrounding the heart, all that was left to do was detonate it, but he had used almost all his power in creating the array, so he would let it sit for now while he relocked the door, his trap for hades set.

Everything was still under control as he left the ship, Zoldeo and Kain had both been defeated, but they had taken their pound of flesh in the process. He could feel the godslayer magic Zancrow let off as he fought someone. Ultear, Rustyrose, and Azuma were somewhere around here, and Meredy was somewhere around too.

Then the base of the Tenrou Tree exploded and the mighty tree fell into the ocean with a loud splash, taking all the magic out of everyone with Fairy Tail's emblem.

Shit, meet industrial sized fan.

With that thought in mind, Harry sprinted off into the forest, hoping to prevent Grimoire Heart from massacring everyone in Fairy Tail.

 **Woohoo, midterms are over and I am free, free enough to finish this chapter after changing how it goes three times. Next chapter will be the end of the fairy tail world, and maybe there will be one after that, then the wizarding world gets to deal with a pissed off scheming Harry. That is going to be fun to write.**

 **I am going to do Azuma vs his opponent and maybe harry reuniting with meredy in the next chapter, but i'm not sure, the azuma fight though will be badass, even though it will be slightly redundant to the story line, i just want to write azuma fighting someone.**

 **I am loving all the favorites and follows, not many reviews, but what i do get is mostly really supportive.**

 **I am setting up a poll for who harry should ally himself with when he gets to hogwarts, basically everyone but dumbledore, riddle, ginny, and ron. I would love to hear everyone's opinions, i just need to figure out how to make a poll first, should be fun.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own HP or FT**

 ***AN, I know the poll isn't working, so just review me your opinions, only rule is no weasleys and no voldy followers. The only review so far is ChimaTegon, so yeah.**

 **Natsu POV**

After Natsu left Wendy and the Exceeds facing off the girl whose name he knew from somewhere, not directly, but Natsu was sure he'd heard of her before. Natsu shook the shock off and went to face the scent he recognized as Zalty from Galuna island.

What Natsu found was not what he expected. Although, he never could have imagined a shapely woman caressing a black and white tuniced man, muttering senseless things.

After a short fight between the two of them that ended when Natsu was caught off guard by a large portion of his magic simply leaving him unexpectedly after a pink mark appeared on his wrist. He stumbled and the time witch caught him him a large wave of her crystal orbs, one caught him in the head and knocked him out.

Natsu was quickly shaken awake though by a frantic Happy who explained what Wendy's opponent magic was and how it affected him. Natsu was back on his feet quickly after that. He could feel fights taking place all over the island. Erza and Juvia were fighting with someone who's magic felt like is was constantly shifting. Natsu was about to sprint in that direction when he felt another magic flare.

Lisanna and Mira were up against some one way out of their league, and Natsu would be damned if he let anything happen to Lisanna, not again.

With thought in mind, Natsu dashed off towards the Tenrou tree, a fake grin and laugh plastered to his face, quickly loosing Happy in the thick trees.

When he arrived at the base of the tree, Natsu was met with a grisly image. Mira was laying in a heap at the opposite edge of the grove. At least one of her arms and her legs were broken and she had several nasty burns running along her exposed stomach. Seeing his close friend in such a state made Natsu growl in anger, but that wasn't what really set him off.

Lisanna had fought bravely, but she was almost unconscious and being held up by the throat by a tall man with dreadlocks and tattoos on his face.

Natsu gave a roar of fury and punched the man in the face forcing him to drop Lisanna. Natsu caught her before she fell as he glared at the tall dark man who quickly got up.

"Ah yes, Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon of Fairy Tail, not a true opponent, but you will do for now." the man said arrogantly to Natsu and cracked his neck. Natsu was seriously steamed now, he set a gaping Lisanna, who had passed out, down gently next to Mira and glared at the man, letting his magic completely loose, his very aura was raising the temperature of the grove considerable.

"You know what buddy, a good friend once told me that it was ok to not take every fight seriously, but that I should always know when to use my full power, get ready, cause I'm about to hit you with everything I have!" Natsu raged at the man before leaping at him, completely surrounded by flames, unconsciously activating his firedrive.

The man was going to respond, but Natsu moved too quickly, landing another flaming fist into his jaw, following up with a knee to the gut, swept his legs, and finished with a double fist hammer punch into the ground, the mage hit the ground hard enough for a crater to form around him.

"So you are powerful, the rage of a dragon, I am Azuma, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, I have come in search of a worthy foe, and it appears I have found one at last, now fight me Natsu Dragneel, with everything you have!" The man leapt at Natsu and swung his arm at him.

Whatever Natsu expected his magic to be, it wasn't explosions that sent him flying back into the base of the Tenrou tree.

"My magic is the Great Tree Arc, it allows me to control the natural energy within mother nature herself!" Azuma gave a wild laugh and sent another wave of explosions at Natsu, who was more than prepared this time and dodged under and used the explosion force to launch himself at Azuma, kneeing him in the chest.

Azuma and Natsu traded blows for a while until Natsu caught Azuma off guard with a fire dragon's roar, sending Azuma flying back into the base of the Tenrou tree, his entire body scorched, but still functioning.

Azuma tore what was left of his shirt off and gave a wild laugh. "I like it, but lets see how you handle this, TOWER BURST!"

A large blast of nature energy blasted upwards around Natsu, making it impossible to dodge.

When the smoke cleared, Natsu was a little worse for wear, but he was smirking at Azuma.

"While that technique might work against most people, I am immune to most forms of heat, all that was to me was the floor exploding, an inconvenience, but not a real pain. I haven't even shown you my full power and you're already out of breathe, so much for being a good fight." Natsu taunted and smirked while Azuma's crazed smile faltered slightly.

"Not good enough, let's see if this is enough to get your attention." Azuma growled and spun around to face the tree, slamming both his hands into it.

A ring of explosions triggered around the tree and it went crashing down into the ocean.

 **Elsewhere on the island, 3rd person POV**

Gildarts wondered how he had never seen it before. He had always seen something in Cana since the first day the squirt joined the guild, yet he could never place it before now.

She reminded him of Cornelia.

Of course, defending her and her friend Luigi from a sociopath ace of a dark guild was probably not the best time to be thinking about his past heartbreaks, no time ever was really.

Gildarts landed landed several solid punches in Bluenote's gut, cutting him off from what he was going to say, sending him back into the rockface.

Gildarts went to land a finisher when a huge explosion rang through the air. He whipped around to see the great Tenrou tree exploding, falling into the ocean. As the tree fell, Gildarts felt his incredible reserves of energy fall to nothing the and Bluenote's gravity magic smashed him into the ground.

"It may be a cheap strategy, but one of the kin was tasked with destroying the great Tenrou tree, which would completely drain the magic out of everyone with the Fairy Tail guild mark. You are defenseless now Gildarts Clive, you cannot fly." Bluenote told the struggling ace, sending another wave of gravity magic at him and the two girls.

"I can still feel magic power flowing through the island, Natsu is still going, and as long as one member fights, we have a chance." Gildarts growled, feeling Natsu's power fighting someone at the great tree.

"But he is not here, and I will kill you all before he has a chance to arrive, goodbye, flightless birds." Bluenote said, extending his arms out to cast a powerful spell, but he was cut off by a blast of emerald lightning.

"You know, I thought the second ace of Grimoire Heart would be better than the first, but here you are, attacking defenseless mages with your most powerful spell, such a shame, I guess I'll have to kill you." Harry slowly walked into the rocky clearing, shocking everyone by his sudden appearance.

"You know Gildarts, you were the last person I thought I would have to save today, shape up old man." Harry told him with a small smirk before turning back to Bluenote.

"You called me the second ace of Grimoire Heart, what did you know about the first." Bluenote asked Harry

"I killed him." Harry simply answered, silencing everyone present.

"I'll tell you a story, since it is clear Hades never told you what happened." Harry taunted the stunned mage.

"The Reaper was on a mission to recover one of the keys to awaken Zeref, he was sent to a small town, and once he was there, he annihilated the town's guild and tore the city apart looking for the key.

But what he didn't know was that in this city were two small orphans, a boy and a girl, who already found the key. When the orphans realized what Reaper was after, the boy gave the girl the key and told her to run, as far and as fast as she could. The boy then took a stone off the street and taunted the Reaper with it before leading him away from the girl. While the boy knew some magic, he was completely defenseless against the Reaper, who quickly defeated him.

As Reaper prepared to kill the boy, a blonde haired man found them and showed Reaper the key, the one the girl had. The boy was crushed, but his sadness became anger and that anger allowed him to unlock a lost magic that he then used to kill the Reaper where he stood. And since that day, the boy has made it his sole goal to destroy Grimoire Heart, to erase it from the Earth." Harry told Bluenote, whose expression never changed, but Harry knew the Fairy Tail members behind him were in shock, only Laxus had ever known his story, maybe when this was all over he could rejoin the guild, as a less antisocial member, and hopefully Meredy would be accepted too, if the guild could let past Phantom members join, they would probably let Meredy in..

"I'm in a good mood today though Bluenote Stinger, practitioner of Gravity magic and ace of Grimoire Heart, so if you leave now, I'll let you go, but if not, I'll show you exactly what I showed Reaper." Harry growled, letting his aura flare, the black laced with flashes of green filling the air.

"I have finally found an opponent who can fly, I refuse to back down until my final breathe!" Bluenote said in a monotone, but Harry thought he could detect some glee hidden deep down.

Bluenote started by trying to crush Harry with extreme Gravity, but Harry covered his feet with lightning and zipped around, not letting Bluenote focus his magic. The more he wasted trying to hit Harry, the better and more effective his slayer magic would be.

"Are you so quickly reduced to running away so quickly, where is this lost magic you spoke of, where is your revenge!" Bluenote yelled, letting loose a gravity pulse in all directions, knocking Harry down, but he was quickly back on his feet.

"You can't get revenge for those still alive. She was never dead, you bastards recruited her, made her one of your kin. But you said you wanted to see my lost magic, let's see how you handle this." Harry trailed off and took a deep breathe.

"DEATH GOD'S BELLOW!" Harry let loose, sending a spiral of black magic at Bluenote, sending him flying off his feet.

The Fairy Tail members were in shock, another slayer had been in their guild all this time, and it may have been their imagination, but the gravity keeping them down lessened slightly, enough for Gildarts to rise to one knee.

"What is this, why did my magic drain when that hit me." Bluenote growled, picking himself off the ground.

"My true magic is Death god slayer magic, taught to me by the avatar of death itself. My magic drains the life force and magic out of those it hits, and once a person is completely drained, they die, thus, dubbing it death magic." Harry said to the angered Bluenote who caught Harry off guard by sending blasts of gravity at him, knocking him back.

"That would explain how you killed Reaper, he used death magic, making you the perfect counter to his magic, but I am not to be taken as lightly, where he was arrogant, I am confident, where he was weak, I am strong, where he failed, I will succeed." Bluenote said, holding Harry to a rock face with his magic. Harry couldn't use a widespread counter in fear of hitting Gildarts, Cana, or Lucy, but he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

Harry turned himself into lightning and zipped out of the way of the gravity blast Bluenote had sent at him. He tried to lead Bluenote away from the others, but when he got too far away, Bluenotes made to double back, forcing Harry to take an offensive to cut him off.

"Death God's Skull Eater!" A purple skull shaped helmet made of pure magic formed around Harry's head as he descended on Bluenote, landing a head to head collision, blasting the dark ace back.

"You'll have to better than that little bird, unless you want me to clip your wings." Bluenote growled, internally worried as he soon would be unable to cast his most powerful spell without completely draining his reserves, which would leave him wide open if he didn't take out the slayer.

"Then I will, Death God's Scythe!" Harry called and held out his hand and watched as the pure magic scythe formed in his hand. He leapt at Bluenote, letting hundreds of hours of practice with Death guide his movements.

Bluenote didn't have anything to stop the scythe so he was forced to dodge, never allowing the scythe to touch him.

Harry fought to maintain his calm, but he slowly lost his patience as Bluenote used his gravity magic to move faster while also slowing Harry down.

Harry missed on a strike, causing him to overextend, giving Bluenote the opportunity he needed.

He slammed his palms into Harry's chest and used his most powerful spell at point blank range.

"BLACK HOLE!" He yelled and a black orb of magic slammed into Harry, breaking most of his ribs and rupturing multiple organs.

Bluenote was drained, almost completely so, but the boy was laying on his back unmoving, blood trickling out of his mouth, nose, and his chest looked like it had a dent in it.

Bluenote gave a quiet sigh of relief, he had been very close to dieing, and if his foe had been any older, he would have been killed.

Bluenote went to finish the job, but a pulse of raw energy shot across the island. Bluenote froze in fear, all the magic was being absorbed by the Fairy Tail marks, returning the power lost when the tree had fallen.

"How is this happening, Azuma, you weakling!" Bluenote yelled and quickly prepared himself, but after his fight with Harry, he stood no chance against Gildarts, who took Bluenote out with a single charged uppercut.

"You know kid, you are really something else." Gildarts said to the unconscious boy who had just saved his life, nearly at the price of his own.

"We have to find Wendy, Harry needs some serious healing." Cana said as Gildarts gently picked up Harry.

"Yeah, we should head towards the tree, I have a feeling that's where everyone will be after that, and I kinda want to fight Natsu now, he's been holding back." Gildarts said with a smile, starting to walk towards the tree.

"What do you mean Natsu's been holding back, he destroys so much as it is!" Lucy flipped out, yelling at Gildarts.

"Natsu doesn't like hurting people, so he hides his power, destroys stuff on purpose and pretends to be a dense idiot." Harry mumbled from Gildarts's arms, freezing everyone.

"When I get my hands on that boy I am going to wring his neck." Lucy growled, which caused both Gildarts and Cana to burst out laughing, and Harry to pull a smile across his face, despite the immense amounts of pain he was in.

 **Back at the tree, just after it falls**

As Natsu watched the great tree fall, he felt the magic that Mira and Lisanna had left flow out of their bodies and into Azuma, who was radiating power.

"Let's up the ante then, if you manage to defeat me, I'll give the rest of your guild their power back, but if you lose, I'll use the combined power I absorbed to kill all of them, and to make things more fair, I'll only use my own power to kill you, what do you say!" Azuma said with a laugh at the fuming Natsu.

"You're going to regret threatening my friends, and you're especially going to regret hurting Lisanna." Natsu growled and launched himself at Azuma, launching him upwards with an uppercut, sending him atop the broken tree.

"I'm going to force you to use every bit of strength you have, then I'm going to kill you, but not fast enough so that you get to see me kill your precious little mate after torturing her for hours, until she's begging for death." Azuma taunted as he melded with the tree.

"You make all these threats, but I'm going to make sure you never get to follow through." Natsu growled, pulling on the great reserves within him, forcing all his power to surface. He went deeper, using his anger, his rage, his absolute desire to protect. Natsu's eyes snapped open and he said only two words.

" **Dragon Force** "

Natsu's power levels erupted, hitting levels he had never obtained before, even when he forced dragon force against Jellal or Zero, this was true dragonforce. Dark red scales grew along Natsu's forearms and his fingernails grew and sharpened to a point, becoming claws, a loud ripping was heard as dark red wings with a tan underside sprouted from his back, tearing his vest off. Natsu's eyes glowed a bright red and more scales formed under his eyes.

Natsu flew forward, slamming super flame charged punches into Azuma, beating him seven ways to sunday, not ever letting up and giving the crazed tree mage a chance to counter.

Azuma finally managed to get off a few explosions to take to edge off the pummeling he was receiving, but all it did was stall Natsu for a second.

Natsu let loose a roar, scorching Azuma, burning the tree away from him. Azuma started sending roots at Natsu, but as they got closer, Natsu's aura of raw fire burned them before they got too close.

" **I'm going to make sure you never lay a finger on one of my friends ever again**." Natsu's voice was warped by the intense fire as he bore down on Azuma.

"Ramus Sica!" Azuma yelled as he sent as many vines as he could at Natsu, making them thick enough to withstand the fire long enough to hold Natsu.

"TERRA CLAMARE!" Azuma let loose his most powerful spell is hope he would knock Natsu out of Dragon Force, making it an even fight. Azuma had realized that while he was in Dragon Force, he was practically unbeatable.

Azuma panted as he waited for the smoke to clear, to see if he had gotten lucky enough to knock out Natsu.

" **RRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR!** " The roar of a dragon echoed across the island, sending fear through the core of Azuma's being.

" **You will never touch any of my friends ever again**." Natsu growled as his aura grew even further, sending Azuma to his knees. Azuma could have sworn he saw an angry red dragon towering above the scaled flaming slayer.

" **FIRE DRAGON'S SECRET ART, CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!** " Natsu yelled and threw the mass of twirling flame at Azuma, and it exploded on contact, a fiery supernova.

When the dust settled Natsu had fallen out of his dragon force and was panting heavily, years of not using his full power had made them more exhausting to use, he wouldn't be using dragon force any time soon.

Natsu saw Azuma laying on the ground laughing as his body was slowly overtaken by tree roots, branches growing out of half his face.

"You may have won this fight little dragon, but this will be the end of Fairy Tail, their magic will disperse with my death and your guild will be destroyed." Azuma laughed, but Natsu shook his head.

"I may not be the smartest guy around, but I do know magic energy doesn't just disappear. You're turning into a tree, the magic will be trapped within the tree, all I'll need to do is burn it down, you lose buddy." Natsu told him while donning his torn vest.

"You will never defeat Master Hades, and the guild's ace Bluenote, you will all die." Azuma spat before he turned completely into a tree.

Natsu quickly set fire to the tree and used his fire magic to make it explode outwards, pushing the magic back to his friends.

After that, Natsu went to the base of the tree, took a seat, and waited, holding the unconscious Lisanna in his arms.

Wendy, Erza, and Juvia were the first to arrive, carefully holding the injured master between them. Next came Elfman and the three Exceeds, carrying a badly beaten Gajeel and Levy. Last came Cana, Lucy, and Gildarts, who was holding a black haired figure Natsu first thought was Gray.

"So all we're missing is Gray the the Thunder God Tribe?" Erza asked looking over the collected people.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need your help here Wendy, Harry is unstable." Gildarts said as he laid Harry in front of Wendy, who raised an eyebrow.

"When did he get here, I don't recognize him from the guild." Wendy asked as she started to Heal Harry's ribs and organs.

"He left the guild almost right before you joined, he has some serious problems with Grimoire Heart, seeing as they destroyed his entire town before he came to Fairy Tail. He was an S-class mage and he's stronger than Erza, also, I recently learned he kept the fact he was a slayer a secret." Gildarts said as Harry's breathing became more regular.

"What do we do now, most of our best fighters are and exhausted and we don't know how many more of these guys we need to beat." Lucy complained, collapsing next to Cana.

"Well, I took out tree explosion guy, and I know I can't be the only one to win a fight." Natsu said, looking at the others.

"Loki took out another one of the kin, the goat guy, and Cana and I beat a fat sumo guy." Lucy said, getting a nod from Cana.

"Harry beat their ace." Gildarts said quietly, and everyone's eyes flew to the healing boy.

"Juvia and I defeated a man who went by the name Rustyrose." Erza said, her arms crossed.

"I got my ass kicked by crazy blonde guy, Gajeel fainted in the middle of the fight and Levy and I stood no chance against him." Elfman said dejectedly.

"I lost to a pink haired girl who was me and Harry's age." Wendy said quietly, with that comment Natsu put the pieces together in his head, but kept quiet.

"So you guys still have to beat Zancrow, the fire god slayer, and none of you mentioned Ultear Milkovich, their leader and a time wizard." Harry said, getting everyone's attention.

Harry quickly gave them a brief explanation of six of the seven kin and Bluenote, along with the heart that fueled Hades's magic.

"So we can't beat this guy until that heart is destroyed?" Erza asked and Harry nodded.

"But I already have a small scale thunder palace set up around it. While it is protected against normal attacks, thunder palace will destroy it. Someone will need to distract Hades while a second person goes to the engine room and triggers the palace." Harry explained

"So this is where you guys wandered off to." Gray said as he entered the clearing, holding his side that was covering a cut on his side.

"Good to see you alive ice princess." Natsu said, causing Gray to scowl.

"Whatever Natsu, I just beat the leader of the Seven Kin so I know I beat the best opponent." Gray countered, but Natsu laughed.

"Harry beat their ace, so he wins." Natsu laughed and pointed to Harry who Wendy was just finishing healing.

"Nice to see you beat Ultear Gray, although how you beat her I won't ask, seeing as her magic counters yours." Harry said in a voice close to monotone, but not quite, Gray gave a sheepish look in response and said something about blood.

"So what is the plan now, there are still two kin loose on the island, along with the Thunder God Tribe, and there's the matter of Hades to deal with as well." Erza asked, looking at those who could still stand.

"I'm going after the kin, the tribe is out there so they'll help me, you guys handle Hades." Harry said, getting to his feet, ignoring Wendy's protests.

"So we need to make two teams, one to hit the heart and one to attack Hades." Erza said, but Natsu shot her down.

"We still need people to protect the wounded, in case some of the kin manage to get back up." he weighed in, drawing immediate agreeal.

"I'll stay back, both my sisters are hurt, I'll be a real man and defend them." Elfman said, banging a fist into his chest.

"I'm taking on Hades." Natsu insisted, which meant of course the rest of his team wanted to go with him.

"So Team Natsu will attack Hades, the Exceeds will trigger the thunder palace and Harry will find the Thunder God Tribe and look for the two remaining kin while the rest of us defend, is everyone clear?" Gildarts asked, and when he received no disagreement, Team Natsu and the cats went towards the Grimoire Heart's airship while Harry turned and walked back into the forest, intent on finding not the Thunder God Tribe, but Meredy.

 **Ok, so Harry finally loses a fight, gasp. But he only just turned 14 so he can't be invincible. Nali is a side pairing in the story and I have some ideas floating around about a non crossover nali story so that may come in the future, but after I finish one of my current stories.**

 **So I am pretty sure my poll isn't working despite trying to get it to work, so just drop a review if you want to have a say in who, if anyone, Harry and Meredy make friends with while at Hogwarts.**

 **I also am toying with the idea of dragging Lisanna and Natsu to Hogwarts as well, but I can't find a logical reason to do that, and maybe I just drag the entire Tenrou group there, that would surely give Dumbles a heart attack, if anyone has an opinion, just leave it in a review and PM me for more in depth ideas.**

 **I personally loved Gray's fight against Ultear and using his own blood as ice, easily his most badass fight in the series.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own FT and HP**

 ***AN So the response to my last chapter was tremendous, it wasn't even an hour and reviews were pouring in, it was awesome, this chapter won't affect my eventual decision, but my favorite points were the ones made by Darth Aeorath, whose idea I may just use, and my own in person writing idea bouncer, who warned me keeping track of so many characters that haven't played a major role in the story would be a real pain in the ass. I am leaning towards including a small group with Harry and Meredy, anywhere from 2 to 4 extra people, but seeing as I'm writing this before I write the chapter, we'll see what see what happens by the time I finish writing.**

 **Meredy POV**

Meredy made her way across the island as fast as she could. She knew the three mages she was searching for were most likely to be hostile, but if she convinced them she was a traitor working against Grimoire Heart, she could get the info she needed, find Ultear, get the hell off this damned island and find Harry.

She tromped through the underbrush until she heard a massive chain explosion coming from the massive tree. The Fairies would be defenseless, making finding the Thunder God Tribe both harder and easier.

Meredy headed away from the tree, looking around the more remote portions of the island. She finally found the three in the cave system near the shore.

"Freed Justine, Bickslow, and Evergreen, together making up the Thunder God Tribe. I seek your aid." Meredy told them calmly, using her mask.

"You're from Grimoire Heart, why would we ever help you." Freed questioned

"While I may be a part of Grimoire Heart currently, I only joined because they told me my friend was dead and they could revive him. I knew this was a lie, so I acted as a mole, sabotaging them from the inside. I recently learned my friend is alive, so now I am looking for his whereabouts." Meredy explained.

"Ok, so say we believe you, why would we known where he is?" Evergreen countered, glaring at Meredy.

"His name was Harry Potter, he was your teammate until he left the guild several months back." Meredy answered.

"If Harry really is your friend, then how come he never mentioned you to us?" Freed asked, and Bickslow laughed.

"The kid never liked us, like he would tell us about his friends, Laxus would have been the one he talked too." he said.

"If you have no information, I will simply leave." Meredy told them, spinning on her heel.

"She acts as cold as Harry so them being friends isn't a stretch." Freed said

Meredy went to answer, but a pulse of magic caught her off guard. The whole tribe sprang to their feet, magic energy returned to them.

"It would seem Azuma was defeated." Meredy told them.

"So all you seek would be Harry's most likely location, no need to fight?" Freed asked, quirking one of his eyebrows.

"Yes, then I shall leave the island in search of him." Meredy answered with a nod.

"I believe we have an accord." Freed answered, holding out his hand. As Meredy went to shake his hand, a large explosion surrounded them, filling the sky with black flame.

"Is this how you treat us after we took you in Meredy, you turn around and stab us in the back?" Zancrow walked out onto the beach head, his crazed grin showing full force.

"You bastards destroyed my village and killed my best friend, so yeah, this is exactly what I'm going to do." she answered, getting into a fighting stance. She risked a glance back at the tribe, Bickslow and Evergreen were out cold, heavily burned, while Freed was injured but standing, she had the lightest injuries out of any of them.

"Well, I guess you're not as stupid as I thought you were, but your little revenge scheme ends now, no one is coming to save you as I roast you alive." Zancrow said with a smirk and sent a large wave of fire at Meredy.

She managed to jump out of the way, but the recovering Freed wasn't so lucky. The blast caught him head on, sending him into oblivion.

The storm that was brewing around the island had started blowing harder, lightning filling the sky. Meredy gave a soft smile, she knew she was no match for Zancrow, but she would be damned if she didn't bring him down with her.

"If you want to bring me down, you're going to fall right beside me." Meredy hissed, forming a pair of sodoms in her hands.

"We'll see about that." Zancrow hissed and he jumped at Meredy, his hands alite with black fire.

"Fire God's Strike!" he called, swinging his flame covered fists at Meredy, who slipped under his fast strike, slicing him across the ribs with here sodoms.

"Fire God's BELLOW!" Zancrow spun around quickly and sent a cone of black flames at the unsuspecting Meredy

"Maguilty Wall!" Meredy called, slamming her forearm into the ground, forming a pink barrier in front of her, protecting her from the fire.

"Maguilty Rays!" Meredy tried, sending a large yellow blast of magic at Zancrow

"Fire God's Kagutsuchi!" He yelled and let loose a tremendous amount of fire at Meredy, overwhelming her maguilty rays, sending her crashing back into a tree.

"This is where you die traitor, say hello to Reaper in hell for me." Zancrow said with a smirk and began charging a breath attack.

"Fire God's B…"

His attack was cut off by a large blast of emerald lightning striking him in the chest.

Green lightning. Meredy only knew one person who could use that kind of attack. Here had been here this whole time.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, didn't your mother ever teach you it isn't nice to hit a lady." Harry said, a smile on his lips that didn't reach his eyes.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be." Zancrow asked as he hopped to his feet, keeping an eye on both Harry and Meredy, who had risen to her feet.

"Oh, just the guy who offed that Reaper guy, no big deal." Harry said, watching Zancrow's reaction carefully, but still taunting his enemy.

"Oh, I thought you died kid, but now you're looking for payback huh, well, good luck with that. You don't look so hot as it is." Zancrow said with a smirk, gesturing to the blood splattered on his cloths.

"So I got a little roughed up fighting some Bluenote guy, but he's not going anywhere any time soon and I'm here so I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that." Harry said, coughing up a little blood, his lungs weren't as healed as he had thought they were.

"Harry you're hurt, let me take care of this guy." Meredy tried to insist, but Harry shook his head.

"Last time we split up, shit hit the fan, this time we stand together." Harry said and Meredy nodded.

As if acting on an unspoken signal, all three combatants launched themselves at each other.

"Fire God's Supper!"

"Death God's Coffin Nail!"

"Maguilty Slicer!"

The three attacks collided, Zancrow's fire was halted just long enough by Meredy for Harry to slip through with his coffin nail, landing his elbow straight into Zancrow's face, crushing him into the dirt.

"You're not the only god slayer around Zancrow, and unlike you, I was taught by a god." Harry said as Zancrow got up slowly.

"What the hell kind of god taught you that, and why does it feel like my magic was drained." he asked, lacking his usual cockiness.

"It's how I beat Reaper, my magic is the breath of death itself, it drains your life force, your magic, and when you run out of magic for me to drain, you die." Harry said, sending a blast of death god's stakes at Zancrow, forcing him to dodge out of the way, straight into a pair of Meredy's sodoms, making him grunt in pain as they passed through his arms.

"I'm not going down that easy." Zancrow growled, propelling himself forward, aiming to kick Meredy in the head with a flaming kick, but Harry intercepted him with a charged kick of own, and Meredy used the opportunity to nail him again with her sodom, knocking him backwards.

"Ready to finish this?" Harry asked Meredy and Zancrow slowly got up.

"Just say the word." Meredy agreed and the two clasped hands and sent a blast of magic at Zancrow.

"DEATH GOD'S MAGUILTY CANNON!" they called together and the mass of pink and black magic slammed into Zancrow, driving him up the beach and into a cliff face where he lay, unmoving, his skin blackened and shriveled, like a dried bean.

"Well, that's the end of that." Harry said matter-o-factly. As he finished saying that, Meredy grabbed him in a tight hug which Harry happily returned.

After all these years, two best friends were reunited as the sun finally broke through the storm. The moment was perfect, perfect enough that fate had to intervene with a blasting roar that sent fear into the hearts of all who heard it.

 **Short chapter, but the next chapter will be a big deal. I got another review asking for Harry to befriend Luna, and quite a few requests to screw with Dumbledore by sending over the whole Tenrou group, but I've decided that keeping track of so many people would be too much work. It'll just be Harry, Meredy, Ultear, Laxus, and maybe Natsu and Lisanna, but I'm not sure. Either way, Dumbledore will be significantly messed with.**

 **I am loving all the support, you guys are great. Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own FT and HP**

Whatever Laxus figured would happen after helping Fairy Tail beat Hades, being laughed at by Gildarts for getting kicked out was not one of them.

After getting away from the crash mage, Laxus went to find his grandfather.

"So what now Gramps, you want me to scram?" Laxus asked Makarov, who had been talking with Erza.

"Well, you are on Fairy Tail's sacred ground, without being a member, so while you helped us, GET OUT!" Makarov snapped at Laxus who just shrugged, better reaction than he was expecting.

"Sure, I'll go find Harry and give him the heads up we aren't welcome then I'll be gone." Laxus said to the master and set off through the forest, dodging his ex followers as they limped back to the rest of the guild, covered in burns. Why he let them inflate his ego so much was beyond him.

Laxus followed Harry's scent until he heard the roar. The roar of a dragon, not Natsu or one of the slayers, but an actual dragon. Laxus took off through the forest, sprinting to Harry's scent. He stumbled into a clearing near a cove, finding Harry and a pink haired girl looking at the sky.

"Dragon, not a slayer, we gotta get the hell out of here." Laxus told Harry, who turned to him and smirked.

"What, not strong enough to take on one little dragon mr dragon slayer." Harry joked, causing the pink haired girl to snicker.

"When did you get a sense of humor?" Laxus asked, stunned by the change in Harry's character.

"Since I found my best friend wasn't dead." Harry answered, pulling the pink haired girl into his side, who laughed.

"Oh, so you must be Meredy, good to meet you, now remember to use protection you two." Laxus shot back, causing both their faces to turn the color of Meredy's hair.

"Wasn't there a dragon coming?" Meredy piped in, freezing the happy reunion.

"Yeah, anyone got a boat on hand?" Laxus asked, looking up at the sky, waiting for the dragon to appear.

"No, but the Tenrou tree is fixing itself." Harry said off handedly, pointing up at the tree that was rising up out of the ocean.

"That must be Ultear, she must be still on the island, we have to bring her with us, she'll be too tired to move after using that much magic." Meredy said, taking off towards the tree. Harry following after her without a moment's hesitation.

"Really guys, did the dragon completely slip your mind, crazy suicidal kids.." Laxus muttered as he raced after the two.

Meredy eventually found Ultear, but she wasn't alone. "Natsu, Lisanna, what the hell are you two doing here?" Harry asked when he caught up to Meredy.

"Natsu went looking for you Harry, to warn you about the incoming dragon, and he felt the need to carry me along with him." Lisanna complained, smacking the back of Natsu's head.

"Well, it seems to me like he just wanted some alone time with you." Ultear said from where she was laying on the ground, exhausted, Lisanna went red, and Natsu feigned ignorance, but the shade his ears turned said Ultear had hit the mark.

"Well on the note of a dragon, we all need to get the hell out of here before the dragon comes." Laxus said, catching up to the others at the base of the tree.

"We have to go back to help the others, we can't leave them here." Lisanna insisted, but Harry shook his head.

"If they're smart, they'll already be on the ship they came here on and are sailing away, we need to do the same, does anyone know where we can get a ride out of here." Harry asked, glancing around.

"Ultear and I have a medium sized boat at the far side of the island, we can use that to get away from here." Meredy said, pointing in the opposite direction of the Fairy Tail group.

"Then let's go." Natsu said, picking up Lisanna bridal style and sprinting of into the forest, ignoring Lisanna's protests.

"Come on Ultear, time to get up and get out of here." Meredy said to Ultear, trying to help the time mage up.

"Just get out of here Meredy, leave me and go." Ultear insisted, but Meredy refused to leave her side.

"Oh for the love of, get out of my way." Laxus grumbled, slung Ultear over his shoulder and took off after Natsu, leaving a stunned Harry and Meredy behind.

"Would you like me to carry you out my lady." Harry said jokingly to Meredy, giving her a light bow. Meredy giggled and smacked the back of his head.

"Can it goof ball, lets just get the hell out of here." and the two disappeared into the forest.

All six of them had made it to the beach and were shoving the boat off the shore when the dragon showed up. It was a real monster. Black with light blue markings, it collided with the Titan sized Makarov, knocking the old man back.

"Time to really get the hell out of here." Meredy said and they all hopped on the boat and could only watch as the dragon took a beating from everyone in Fairy Tail that was on the island. It wasn't close to enough. They watched as the dragon flew over the island and let loose a roar of blue energy more powerful than Etherion. When the light cleared, there was no Tenrou island left.

 **Time skip 3 months**

At first, Natsu and Lisanna had been a mess at the loss of all their friends and family. But they slowly got over it, but they both still refused to face the remaining Fairy Tail mages in shame.

After about two months they both resolved to get stronger. They also started dating, making Harry very happy because he had won the bet on when the two would start dating. Little did he know there was a similar bet on him and Meredy.

Laxus and Ultear acted as the leaders of their ragtag group of mages, not letting anyone get too depressed and down, as well as keeping Natsu from destroying random buildings after he returned to his normal carefree destruction loving mask.

Harry and Meredy made up for lost time, sharing the stories of the years they were apart. Most of Harry's centered on the antics of Fairy Tail mages, usually Natsu and Gray, while Meredy told of her pranks against Grimoire Heart that no one had managed to tie back to her.

On top of all that, they all taught themselves with each other, using Meredy's links as a way to coordinate attacks without the pain down side.

All in all, they were a content group of travelers, but the glowing blue fires changed that.

It happened as they were walking between towns at Natsu's insistence, when the blue fire started. A circle of it grew around Harry's feet until it encompassed the entire group. Before any of them had a chance to react or for Natsu to eat the fire, the floor seemingly gave away from underneath them and they fell into a large hall with four long tables, each decorated with a different color. And of course, everyone was staring at them in silence with wide eyes until a dreamy voice said

"See, I told you that there would be Fairies here tonight."

 **Flash back a little bit, on Earth.**

Dumbledore couldn't have been more pleased with how his plans were going. He could tell instantly that it wasn't really Alastor Moody who was at his school, a quick Veritaserum tea party followed by an obliviate charm told him everything he needed to know about Tom's plans without the imposter being and wiser.

Although, Crouch Jr's plan to put Potter's name into the goblet with a compulsion charm attached to it would need some extra help from himself to work, it would bring Harry from whatever hole he was hiding in right to him.

Once the goblet was lit, Dumbledore discreetly charmed it so that it recognized Harry Potter as his own separate school, and then he went on his merry way, waiting eagerly for Halloween when Harry would return to his control.

After the feast, Dumbledore waited for the goblet to spit out the four names, making sure to act surprised when Harry's name came out.

What Dumbledore wasn't expecting was for Harry's name to come out a second time, in handwriting that looked very similar to a certain Ronald Weasley's. Then a third, and a fourth.

For around five minutes Harry's name was spit out of the goblet, each time in a different handwriting. Dumbledore had to stop himself from face palming, how could his plan have gone so south. All these Harry Potter submissions made it look like a joke instead of painting Harry as a target for the press, and on top of that, the goblet hadn't summoned Harry yet, meaning that his plan was further in ruins.

Just as Dumbledore was about to give up, the Goblet erupted in a torrent of blue flames, forming a ring of fire in the air. Out of that ring fell six people, all looking thoroughly confused.

Dumbledore observed them carefully. The first was a massively muscular blonde man with a lightning bolt scar going over his eye that made Harry's look insignificant in comparison. He wore a purple furred cloak over a button up shirt and jeans. The second was a very attractive dark haired woman, wearing a tight outfit that drew the eyes of many of the older boys. She was holding a green crystal ball of some sort, maybe signifying she was a seer.

They both looked like adults instead of children.

The next two looked just older than the average seventh years. One was a white haired petite girl in shorts and a normal shirt, who was holding hands with a pink haired man who was wearing an open vest, showing off a very muscular stomach, drawing the eye of just about every girl in the room, despite his dark glare that matched that of all his companions.

The fifth was younger and wearing expressionless look on her face. She had pink hair with a gold crown like headpiece covering her ears and flared out like wings on the side of her head. She wore a red cloak over what seemed to be a combat suit.

And then there was his savior. Harry was taller and fitter than he would have thought, but he was still the least muscular of the three men in the group. His hair was spiked straight up like the blonde man's, showing a faded lightning shaped scar on his forehead. He was wearing loose dark colored clothing, covered by a knee length trench coat with a high collar.

The silence was broken with a cry of, "See, I told you there would be Fairies here tonight."

And with that comment, the silence broke down into chaos.

Dumbledore waited for it to settle down, but was forced to raise his wand and give off a cannon shot before everyone calmed down enough for him to be heard.

"Would Mr. Potter kindly step into the side room and await further instruction." he said in his kindly grandfather voice, hoping not to make a scene, but it was not to be.

"Who the hell are you and what gives you the right to order any of us around." the tall blonde asked, glaring at Dumbledore, who tried to use the opportunity to use a small legilimency probe, but was quickly thrown out of the man's mind by what looked like a dragon charged with lightning.

"Forgive me, it seems there is some confusion, if I could have your entire group step into a side room so we may have introductions. Dumbledore gestured to the side room with the other three champions, who had probably heard the loud noise by now and were waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Fine, with your lead." the dark haired woman said and gestured for Dumbledore to lead them into the side room, which he did gladly. Motioning for his fellow headmasters and professors Snape and Moody to follow him, along with Crouch and Bagman, who would undoubtedly keep Harry from backing out of the tournament like he would probably try to.

Once they were all out of the great hall, leaving McGonagall to deal with the chaos that ensued, the questioning began.

"So how the hell did all of us get here and why." the blonde asked, getting straight to the point.

"My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is where we are now. The reason you are all here is for the Triwizard tournament, which it would seem Mr. Potter has been entered in." Dumbledore was cut off by the boy himself.

"How am I entered in it if I have never been here before and know none of this?" he asked calmly, belaying no emotion, something that concerned Dumbledore.

"Yes, you yourself declared three years ago that you were training Mr. Potter, yet here he is, having no clue who you are." Madame Maxine said, which caused the entire group to glare at him, leaving him to cover his ass.

"Yes, well I did not want to worry the public that Mr. Potter had gone missing so I covered that little fact while I sought for him, but here he is so no harm done." Dumbledore said, which caused Harry to raise an eyebrow.

"And why would the public be worried about me, I am just one person?" he asked

"You are famous for stopping He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as a child. You are one of the most famous wizards in Britain." Maxine said, and a look of clarity spread over Harry's face.

"Laxus, I think this is the world I originally came from, not Earthland." Harry said to the blonde man, now identified. Dumbledore's brain at the connotations at what Harry had just said. Different world, that was a worrying thought.

"Ok, moving past the fact the old man is a liar, how did we all get here." Laxus asked, Snape fielded this question.

"The goblet of Fire, an ancient artifact which is used to select the competitors for the tournament opened a portal in the sky and brought Potter here, the rest of you were unfortunate enough to be close enough to him that you got sucked along with him." he said in his dull tone.

"So how do we get back, none of us want to be here." the pink haired man spoke for the first time, drawing eyes to him.

"Well, the rest of you are free to do whatever you wish, but Mr. Potter must remain here to compete, when his name came out of the goblet, it forced him into a magical contract that would take his magic if he were to back out." Crouch said, drawing the angry glares of the whole group.

"But what school would he compete for, it would be most unfair if Hogwarts was to have two champions." Karkaroff said, gesturing at Harry and a boy in yellow robes and a confused look on his face.

"If I am forced to compete, I will compete for my guild." Harry said, drawing attention back to himself.

"Oh." Dumbledore asked, looking for more information.

"The world we came from had wizard's guilds where wizards can find work, we all are a part of the Guild called Fairy Tail." Laxus said, and Natsu pointed to the mark on his arm. While it was a bit of a white lie, Laxus had stolen the extra guild stamp before he had left the guild and had Natsu make himself, Harry, Meredy and Ultear a part of the guild before they got dragged into this whole mess.

"Ok then, now that that is all cleared up, onto the taks." Bagman piped up, a jolly look on his face.

"The first challenge will be on November 24th and it will be a challenge to test your daring against the unknown, meaning you will not be told what you will be facing until the day of the challenge." Bagman said.

And with that, most of the people dispersed. Leaving Dumbledore alone with the group from a foreign world. Dumbledore knew by this point that these people were dangerous and his normal methods of getting his way wouldn't work if his attempt to probe the blonde was anything to go by. He would have to play nice for now.

"We can open one of the guest quarters for you all to stay in for the duration of the tournament." Dumbledore said cheerily. "I never caught most of your names though." he said pointedly, fishing for knowledge.

"Natsu Dragneel." the pink haired boy spoke first.

"Ultear Milkovich." the tall dark haired woman

"Meredy Milkovich." the short pink haired girl

"Lisanna Strauss." the white haired girl, who was still holding onto Natsu

"Laxus Dreyar" the grumpy blonde who intimidated Dumbledore a little

"And you all clearly know me, now if you could lead us to our quarters that would be most appreciated." Harry said, gesturing to the door.

"Of course, but one more question, since you represent a fourth institution, one of you will need to be a judge for the tournament." Dumbledore said as he led them out of the side room.

"The master is my grandfather so I'll do that." Laxus said with a stiff nod. Dumbledore gave him a small smile with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course." Dumbledore said, stopping at a painting of a large tree, bringing up bad memories for the Earthland Group. "While you are all hear, you are welcome to sit in on classes and experience a new take on magic, the whole point of the tournament is to encourage international cooperation, in this case, inter world. The only restriction is the head of your group, that would be you Mr. Dreyar as the judge for Fairy Tail, is not allowed to directly train your champion. Aside from that, I welcome you to Hogwarts." Dumbledore said his speech and tapped on one of the roots of the tree painting that resembled a snake with his wand, and the painting swung open.

"I wish you all pleasant dreams." he said as they stepped into the room and the painting swung closed behind them.

When Dumbledore got back to his office, he had to resist banging his head on his desk. Of all the places for Harry to end up, it had to be another world that was obviously brimming with magic. It would complicate his plans to have so many powerful people backing the boy, but he would make it work. The first step to his plan for eternal fame was complete, with only one small hiccup.

Oh, if only he knew what was coming.

 **Ok, instead of having to keep track of the whole Tenrou group, I limited myself to six people. I know this chapter is choppy and rushed, but the next few before the challenge should straighten it out.**

 **Happy reading -CenturionAfricanus**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own FT or HP**

When Dumbledore left the room they had been given, all six Earthland mages dropped their carefree expressions into deadly serious ones.

"We can't trust the old man, or the two he brought with him, giant eye and greasy bat." Meredy said, "I felt their nervous systems, all of their hearts accelerated when Harry asked why he had been entered, then the old guy completely dodged the question." she added

"The other headmasters just looked upset about the host school trying to get a leg up, and now that that has been addressed, they should be polite, maybe even friendly except for during the competitions." Ultear added, leaning over the backs of one of the couches in the room.

"I think the most important thing would be to learn everything we can about this world, which means finding some kind of library, then keeping Natsu as far away from it as possible." Harry added, shooting Natsu a mock glare as the dragon slayer plopped down onto a couch.

"Hey, it's not my fault paper burns so easily." he started to complain until Lisanna smacked him on the back of his head.

"Quiet you, just listen." she said, pretending to be angry at him.

"Moving on, Meredy and I will doing the research in the library, knowledge collecting." Ultear said

"I'll talk to the teachers, they're more likely to share information with an adult figure." Laxus added

"Someone needs to talk with the girl who mentioned fairies when we got here, she was the silvery blonde one at the blue table." Meredy said and Lisanna quickly took that job, Natsu grinning at her side.

"And me, this apparently is me home world after all." Harry asked, Ultear turned to him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You'll be going to integrating with the population, everyone will want to know the missing hero, so try and befriend everyone." Ultear said and Harry groaned, he wasn't really a people person.

"Let's find beds then, who knows what is going to happen in this madhouse castle." Laxus said and went up one of the three staircases, followed by Harry. Ultear and Meredy went up the second, leaving a heavily blushing Lisanna and a slightly confused Natsu with the third room.

The next morning, the six managed to follow the swarm of robed people down to the large hallway from before. At the head table, Dumbledore gestured for Laxus to take a seat by him and the other headmasters. When Laxus had took the seat between Dumbledore and a stern looking witch, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Attention everyone, It may be unplanned, but may I introduce Laxus Dreyar, grandson of the master of the Fairy Tail wizards guild, who will be represented by Harry Potter in the tournament. Treat them as guests like our other foreign schools."

The announcement was met with light applause as the Earthland wizards, minus Laxus, took a seat at the blue table, where they were greeted by a bushy haired girl who looked to be Harry's age.

"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger, welcome to Hogwarts." she greeted cheerily

"Nice to meet you, I'm Natsu Dragneel. The awesomest wizard ever!" Natsu said holding out his hand, which Hermione shook carefully.

"Don't mind my annoying boyfriend, he tends to say things, I'm Lisanna Strauss." Lisanna said in a bright voice.

"I've never met anyone with pink hair before, is that common where you all are from?" Hermione asked, glancing at both Meredy and the grinning Natsu.

"Not common, but not unheard of." Meredy answered. "Why are there four tables, does each table use a different kind of magic?" she asked, Hermione shook her head.

"No, those are the four houses, people are separated based on their personality, the red house is Gryffindor, house of the brave, green is Slytherin, house of cunning, yellow is Hufflepuff, house of the loyal, and this group is Ravenclaw, house of the wise." Hermione said, pointing to each table as she listed them off.

"That just sounds like a breeding ground for rivalries." Ultear said as she helped herself to some fruit at the table, ignoring the looks some of the guys were giving her as she ate a banana.

"It is, but the system has been in place for centuries, god forbid if anyone suggested change." Hermione groaned.

"Common point of dispute?" Harry asked

"Me and a small group of others have a whole list of problems wrong with the school, and a longer list about the wizarding world as a whole." Hermione said, angrily stabbing her food.

"You make it sound like wizards hide from the rest of the world." Ultear said, shooting a glance at Meredy

"They are, which means everything here is outdated and no one can use magic in the outside world, it's so frustrating." Hermione griped.

"Well, that's different." Meredy commented and let the topic drop.

The rest of breakfast the group quizzed Hermione about the ins and outs of the wizarding world, Hermione was more than happy to answer, with a few others pitching in at the table as they ate.

When the meal was over, Lisanna and Natsu discreetly followed the blonde from last night while Ultear and Meredy followed Hermione's instructions to the library.

"I'll just follow you around if that's ok?" Harry asked Hermione as she got up, overstuffed book bag in hand.

"That's fine, I have a few questions of my own if you don't mind." she answered as the two walked out of the great hall.

"I don't mind at all, you'll have to forgive me if I don't answer them all as clearly as I could, I've just been entered in a tournament in a world I thought I had left behind, I want to keep a few tricks up my sleeve." Harry answered as they turned a corner. Hermione went to answer, but was cut off by a boy with hair so blonde it was almost white, on either side of him were what Harry guessed were shaved gorillas shoved into uniforms.

"Well Potter, looks like you are still alive. First thing you should know is that some people are worth more than others, you shouldn't let yourself be seen with trash like that mudblood." He said jutting his chin at Hermione, who took the insult in stride, but Harry could tell it bothered her.

"Who are you exactly?" Harry asked, he had a suspicion from what Hermione had told him earlier, but wanted to be sure.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, my father is a big name in the Ministry." Draco answered and the gorillas nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"Well then Draco, my piece of advice to you is not to insult those who have helped one you attempt to befriend, it makes you look like nothing more than a bully, you aren't a bully are you?" Harry asked, unknowingly his eyes flashed black for a moment and his aura increased.

Malfoy tried not to be intimidated, but the powerful aura and harsh glare made it hard not to be. "Just know your place Potter." Malfoy spat half heartedly before rushing past.

"You know, I think that's the first time he hasn't gotten his way in a verbal spar, what I would have given to have you around these past few years." Hermione said with a chuckle as the two made their way into what Hermione called the charms classroom. For the next hour, Harry witnessed this world's version of magic, listened to the theory, watched the application, and attempts by students at least. Harry was slightly impressed, magic here was much more multipurpose and adaptable, a spell for everything.

But Harry could see a glaring downside right out of the gate, complete and utter reliance on the wand, like a poor holder mage. When he broached the subject to Hermione, she pondered for a moment, agreeing that there may be a bit of a reliance on wands, but magic gave them an edge, both magic knowledge and power playing into who won a duel, the nicest of which were ended by disarming.

After the charms lesson with the Makarov sized professor, Harry followed Hermione to her next class, Ancient Runes. This was a class that made sense to Harry after spending a few years around Freed. These runes were less powerful and harder to adapt, but had the redeeming feature of multiple languages instead of the two known rune languages in Earthland. If one were to learn an obscure and complicated enough language, maybe throw some simpler language bits in to throw off someone trying to bypass the rune scheme, and it would be more secure than the Earthland methods. This world's runes, Harry decided, were worth the effort to learn.

After the runes class was lunch where Harry reconvened with the other Earthland mages, and met Luna Lovegood for the first time.

To say Luna was a little strange was like saying Natsu could be a little destructive, a gross understatement. But from what Harry could decipher from the babble about different seemingly imaginary magical creatures and how to ward them off, Luna was a wellspring of information, she just had a unique way of presenting it.

Her comment that the 'batty gliders' were quite unhappy he was in the school and were planning to 'infect his intestines with gas bubbles' was finally translated to the potions master didn't like him and wanted to poison him. A good warning, once deciphered.

Her constant mention of Fairies fighting Nargles also provided Harry something to consider, and a want to bang his head against the table. Nargles was completely undescriptive for a coming threat, but Hermione said Nargles were something Luna often would talk about, if only to say they messed with people's head. She did comment that Harry's group wasn't infested, so a small mercy, probably.

When the group split for the afternoon, Harry went with Luna, leaving Natsu and Lisanna to follow Hermione down into the dungeons, Hermione quizzing them all the way down.

After Harry was bored to pieces in History of Magic, taught by a piece history itself, and realized Arithmancy was pointless for him, he couldn't cast these spells, inventing a new spell wouldn't help him at all. Harry went down to dinner, ignoring the sideways glances he was getting for hanging around Luna, who he could figure by this point was considered not entirely there by most of the people here. Harry easily saw where this thought pattern came from, but looking from a different angle added perspective. What Harry saw was a talented girl who could do well at Fairy Tail.

The two had almost made it to the Great Hall when Harry heard a voice from behind him.

"Oi, mate, ditch Loony and come eat with us." a red haired boy in red robes called to Harry. Harry paused mid step, allowing the boy to catch up with them. He was tall and gangly, the top of Harry's head only just reaching past his jawline. Despite that he looked to be around Harry's age.

"My name's Ron, Ron Weasley, 4th year Gryffindor." Ron said, holding out his hand, Harry just looked at the hand, not taking it, waiting until the silence grew awkward and Ron put his hand down.

"If you want to go with him Harry, I understand." Luna said quietly, all hints of aloofness gone from her voice. That was the final clue for Harry, Luna was bullied, probably didn't have the best home life to match, and the airy attitude was her mask, much like his own seriousness, Meredy's robotic meticulousness and Natsu's goofiness.

"I believe her name is Luna, it would be best for your health if you remembered that small detail." Harry said in a calm voice and went to go around the boy, but he stepped in his path.

"So you're going to keep hanging out with a freak like Loony, people are going to say things mate, you're new so you probably don't know, but she's weird, no friends except for a few other oddballs." Ron was starting to get on Harry's nerves, but he kept his composure, if he could deal with Natsu and Gray trying to jump him and not get angry, he could handle a red haired tool.

"There is no such thing as a freak, only people who exceed your ability to comprehend, good day." and with that Harry brushed past Ron, striding towards the others at the Ravenclaw table, but not before he could hear Luna's parting shot to Ron, a fresh smile adorning her face.

"Don't let it get to you, you just have a lot of nargles swarming in your head, and Harry wants to keep his group nargle free, handle that before approaching him again." and then she skipped after Harry.

And so the week continued, Harry made friends with a few others in other houses, Justin Finch Fletchy from Hufflepuff had a talent for runes that had Harry following him every time he had that class, Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor had an unbelievable understanding for magical flora and fauna, a pair of girls from Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis showed Harry around the bowels of the school, all while avoiding the potions master Luna had predicted wanted to poison him, safe to say potions was the only class Harry hadn't toured yet. And then there was Hermione, who had a drive to want to know EVERYTHING, no matter how minute the detail. That group and a few others from other years, like Luna made up a small study group every weekend in the library. Neville had happily dubbed the group, "Hogwart's Misfits". It was the only time Harry saw people from all four houses voluntarily sitting with each other without some form of hostility.

Meredy and Ultear both were sticking to the library, they occasionally went around to classes, but it was only if they needed clarification on a topic. They promised to reveal everything they were researching once they were certain of a few facts.

Lisanna and Natsu used their natural friendliness and had made friends in just about every group, except for Ron Weasley and Malfoy's group. Ron had made a few stupid comments about Natsu's hair that earned him a punch in the face that wouldn't even phase most Earthland wizards Harry knew, but it dropped Ron like a stone.

Malfoy on the other hand, had made a remark about Lisanna in a bathroom, not knowing Natsu was in one of the stalls. Malfoy was in the hospital week for a week with various burns and missing all his hair. All Laxus did when asked to discipline Natsu was cuff him upside the head and told him to burn him in a less central area next time, where the smell of cooked ferret wouldn't bother so many people, in other words, don't get caught.

Laxus could be found most days with the other two headmasters, grilling them for knowledge on the tasks and the history of the tournament. He didn't get much, being a competitor school and all, but knowing there was to be a ball on Christmas was a good tidbit of knowledge to have.

He had also gotten some aid in going down to a village near the school and picking up a small wardrobe for the entire group. Ultear did not appreciate being given a stack of bikini tops, and proceeded to smack Laxus with them, then wear one of them to breakfast the next morning.

Laxus bought her real shirts the next day.

Then the day came when a mousy haired boy Harry vaguely knew by Colin Creevy came into the Runes room, requesting Harry for tournament business. Harry left reluctantly, ignoring Colin's babbling, vaguely wondering why they would send him to collect him for tournament business, and what this tournament business would be.

When reached their destination, Harry got jumped by a vulture woman wearing what looked like crocodile skin, holding an acid green quill.

"Welcome Mr. Potter, I'm Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet, would you mind terribly if I could get an interview?" as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was dragging him by the arm towards a broom cupboard.

That is, until she was cut off by a large blonde man whose glare could make Natsu pause.

"I think it would inappropriate to leave an adult alone with a minor in such close quarters, people might say things, I'll give you an interview here while Harry watches the 'weighing of the wands'." Laxus said as he led Skeeter right back out the door, giving Harry a wink as he left, he was more than well equipped to deal with a mud slinging writer.

"I see our champions are gathered, welcome everyone, to the weighing of the wands!" the excitable man who Harry knew as Bagman said as he bounced on the balls of his feet, like a big child. The other headmasters were keeping an eye on the door, as if waiting for Laxus to storm back in.

"Well then, we have brought in wand expert Garrick Ollivander to judge the worthiness of your wands, ladies first I believe." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eyes that Harry was starting to find annoying.

Fleur handed her wand to a wizard who looked almost as old as Dumbledore and he began spinning it lightly in his hand.

"9 ¾ inches, rosewood, and oh my, the core is?" it seemed to be more for clarification to Harry than anything.

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela, one ov my Grandmuzzer's." Fleur said in accented English, watching carefully as Ollivander handled her wand.

"Yes, I find Veela hair too temperamental for my work, but if it works for you, all the better." and with that, Ollivander summoned a few birds out of thin air and deemed the wand in perfect condition, handing it back to the young woman, then repeating the process with Victor and Cedric.

"And finally, our surprise competitor, Mr. Potter." Ollivander said, holding his hand out expectantly.

"My style of magic does not require the use of a wand, so I have nothing for you to see." he said bluntly, drawing the look from everyone in the room. Harry rolled his eyes and expanded.

"The world I learned my magic from has two main classifications of wizards, holder and caster, holder needs an object, any object, sometimes a wand, to use magic. Caster types, like myself, channel magic directly from our bodies." Harry explained.

"Well then, my service is not needed then, I wish you good luck Mr Potter and invite you to my shop if you ever do desire a wand." Mr. Ollivander said cheerily before Dumbledore led him out the door, perfectly matching the timing of a frustrated Skeeter and a smirking Laxus reentering the room.

"Before the champions leave, we need pictures for the Prophet." Rita said in a huff, gesturing to a camera man who was in the back of the room.

The pictures were a bit of a disaster. The cameraman kept trying to center Fleur, Rita was tugging Harry to the front, and Karkaroff wouldn't let Krum be anywhere but front and center. Poor Cedric just stood in the back and laughed good naturedly as he watched his fellow champions get tugged around.

By the time everyone was finished, it was time for dinner. Laxus caught up with Harry as they made their way through the now semi familiar castle.

"Meredy and Ultear are presenting their research tonight, they said they have some important stuff, and on top of that, I've been doing a little research of my own, we have to start preparing you for the first task." Laxus said and Harry nodded.

"Of course, we can only head home once this whole mess is cleaned up." Harry said, "What did you say to Skeeter that pissed her off so much, she looked rather upset with you." Harry asked, Laxus's predatory grin in response was telling enough to know it had been something big.

"That quill of hers was enchanted to take what the person said and twist it in the worst possible way, I had Ultear mess with the timing on its self inking function, so while she thought she was getting a whole lot of bull to shovel on us from our talk, she really got a whole lot of nothing." Laxus said and Harry let out a bark of laughter.

"Good one, but we'll see tonight if I can one up you." Harry said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Laxus went to comment, but was met by a charging Natsu, who had taken to his old habits of jumping the two of them for a fight.

About halfway through dinner with Meredy and Hermione, who had become research buddies, Harry carefully and quietly sent low powered invisible charges into the teacher's silver ware.

The metal conducted the electricity and gave them all a small shock, causing them to throw their silverware down all at once, only Laxus was unaffected.

What the teachers except for Dumbledore and Hagrid it seemed didn't yet realize what all their hair was sticking straight out and up. The entire great hall exploded in laughter at the sight of all the professors, except the three foreign 'headmasters', with hair that stuck straight up and seemed to be fighting any attempts to calm it. Dumbledore looked like a lion with a great white mane.

Harry particularly noticed the loud laughter of a pair of redheads at the Gryffindor table, the school pranksters. A quick volt had their hair sticking up like the teachers, inciting even louder laughter.

That night the 'Fairy Tail' mages pooled their data, and it brought up some issues. On the tournament front, the past tasks dug up by Meredy and Ultear, as well as rumors heard by Laxus, they could draw a few conclusions, each task would be retrieval based, and the first task would most likely be against a large monster.

It was quickly decided to shift focus to finding the most available dangerous creatures and coming up with a way to deal with each of them.

Next was the Harry's history, which started with a boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle, who later anagrammed his name to I am Lord Voldemort, which Harry thought just sounded ridiculous, but a better evil name than Tom.

Riddle's story of hate and mass murder painted him as this world's modern Zeref, but not really as powerful, more like a dark guild leader.

The best part for Harry, Dumbledore was convinced he wasn't dead, and that he had gone on record several times saying he expected future Harry to combat Riddle. The whole thing reeked of under the table deals and manipulations on the old man's part.

Then there was the old man's backstory. His father imprisoned, mother and sister dead, a brother who slugged him over an open casket, then he vanished, newspapers stopped everything on him, then he shows up again overseas fighting Grindelwald, the Riddle of the time.

His defeating Grindelwald in an epic door began his legend and people, which only one newspaper seemed to accurately report on, a piece called the Quibbler, told how he had help from a Charlus Potter, Harry's grandfather, but he was knocked out halfway through the fight by Dumbledore accidentally missing Grindelwald with a banishing spell and knocking Charlus out on a stone wall.

From there, Dumbledore basically could ask for anything he wanted, and he built himself the image of a kind mentor, becoming a school teacher, , headmaster. From there, he became head of the wizard court, the Wizengamot, and the ICW, which was like an international Magic council. The guy had fingers in everything.

What interested Harry though, was how after his parents had died, it was Dumbledore who proclaimed him the savior, and said he was hidden away from the remainders of Riddle's forces.

From what Harry had gathered on the days following Riddle's defeat/disappearance. Both his godmother and godfather, an Alice Longbottom and Sirius Black were admitted to a hospital for mental help and imprisoned to await trial respectively. The latter had since broken out, but from what Meredy and Ultear had found, he had spent 12 years awaiting a trial, before breaking out. The former had never left the hospital, records said her mind was completely gone, driven from her head.

Dumbledore had also sealed the official wills of Harry's parents, and making it so only a court vote could unseal them.

"From what Meredy and I could tell from everything, Dumbledore would have had complete influence over you until you were legally an adult here, 17. He controlled where you went after your parents died, and would have had control over you here once you came, up until you graduated." Ultear finished, laying the last of the copied articles out over the table.

"And no one has noticed how he basically controls all but one section of the government, and even then, can twist things to get whatever he wants, no matter how illegal?" Laxus asked, getting a solemn nod from Ultear.

"So basically, were stuck among a bunch of dumb sheep who followed a twisted old goat around because he keeps the black flesh eating sheep away, oh and he likes little boys. That about right?" Natsu clarified, much to the amusement of everyone present.

"So we avoid the old guy, turn a few sheep, then get out of here leaving destruction and chaos in our wake, and if Riddle comes back, pound his skull in." Laxus said, already heading towards the stairs.

"Exactly, and I think I'm going to get a little payback on the old fart for sticking me with my arcanaphobic relatives, and have a little explosion on him when I 'find out' he stuck me with abusive relatives." Harry said with a grin, planning what would go down in history as one of the most one sided prank wars in history.

 **Haha, I'm done with another chapter and in a few days is my class trip across the Atlantic, which means long plane rides, which means multiple chapters. What I don't know is if I will get signal where I am going to be able to post, so if I go dead, it's because I can't post, which means there will be a flood of posts on the 25/26th. I also will be trying to get my older Percy Jackson stories a fresh update, but I can't make any promises.**

 **First task next, and a little look into Dumbledore's manipulations to come, and how frustrating Harry can be when he tries.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	13. Chapter 13

**I don't own HP and FT**

And so the research began in vain, ranging from Greek breed Chimeras to Hydras. Most creatures Harry was confident he could outfight on his own, but some things, most noticeably the Nundu, needed extensive planning to just survive, not just kill.

When the day before the first task came, Harry and Meredy were viewing the Defense against the Dark arts class, run by the scarred man Mad Eye Moody Dumbledore had brought with him after Harry and co landed in Hogwarts.

"Listen up kiddies, I've shown this to my older classes already, and I just got special permission from Dumbledore to show you lot. When it comes to dark spells there are three that go far above the rest." Moody said as he walked into the classroom, his wooden leg clunking. "Can any of you lot name them?" he asked, his eye twitching from person in the sea of blue and green uniforms.

Hermione's hand was the first in the air, but Moody called on one of the gorillas Harry had met on his first day.

"The Cruciatus." the boy said in a deep voice, far deeper than some grown men.

"Correct, the cruciatus curse, the only torture technique often ever needed to get information. The curse attacks the nervous system, firing every pain receptor in the body at once. Over exposure can lead to permanent brain damage and a catatonic state." Moody said, reaching his had into a jar on his desk and pulled out a large spider, and with a wave of his wand the spider tripled in size.

"Watch closely. Crucio." Moody intoned and the spider started twitching, its feelers scraping at its head. Meredy was watching closely, her own hands twitching slightly. Harry was much more interested in the reactions of the others. Most of the Ravenclaws were just watching and taking notes, no emotion showing on their face, Hermione was the only one in blue visibly disturbed.

The Slytherins on the other hand, all had flinched when Moody had cast the curse, but any reaction was immediately played down to curiosity. It didn't take a genius to know these children all probably had felt the curse at one point.

Moody canceled the spell, re shrunk the spider and slipped it back into the jar. "Another curse?" he asked, magic eye scanning the crowd quickly, this time he called on Malfoy.

"The Imperious curse."

"You would know that one wouldn't you, you're father 'claimed' to be under it for a short while no?" Moody asked, the voice he used though belayed no sympathy for the elder Malfoy, only disdain.

Moody took a second spider off his desk and held his wand over it, "Imperio"

Almost immediately the spider jumped off his hand and started doing tricks around the room. Backflips and somersaults. Most everyone cracked a small grin and boy Harry believed was Nott snickered.

"Think it's funny do you, would it be so funny if I made it, jump down your throat!" Moody roared, flicking his wand and the spider landed on Malfoy's head and started poking his lips.

"Or if I made it, drown itself!" This time when Moody flicked his wand, the spider scuttled over to the windowsill where a small glass of water had been placed. The spider swan dove it the used it's leg to stay submerged, a few small bubbles escaped, then the spider relaxed, and floated to the surface belly up, no one was laughing now.

"Complete and utter control, but it can be fought, if the one casting it is weaker than the one they place it on by a considerable amount. And the last curse?" Moody fished the first spider back from the jar, still twitching slightly, and placed it on his desk.

This time only Hermione raised her hand, and shakily at that. "The killing curse." she said quietly when Moody pointed at her.

"Yes, the killing curse." Moody said, matching her tone of voice.

In a flash Moody spun around and stuck his wand at the spider. "Avada Kedavra." he said in a cold voice and a shot of green, almost like Harry's lightning spat from Moody's wand and hit the twitching spider. It stilled instantly.

Harry's breath caught as he watched the magic Moody had used. It was wild and uncontrolled, but it was death magic, a perverted form, but death magic nonetheless.

"Instant death. No magic shield can stop it, all physical shield that haven't been properly tempered with enchantments will detonate. There is only one known survivor for this curse once hit, and they're in the back of this room right now." Moody said, drawing every eye in the room to Harry, who merely shrugged, playing off his own immense curiosity.

When the class lt out, Meredy discreetly used her magic and linked herself to Harry. It wasn't one of her usual bands though, this one was white instead of pink. Instead of linking two people completely together, it formed a secure telepathic link. Meredy got the idea after reading one of the Hogwarts books about Occlumency. It took a few days, but she had managed to link two people's minds together, any more than that put a serious strain on her magic.

 _'The first and third spells, cruciatus and killing, I don't think I was the only one who picked up on their familiarity'_ Meredy sent along the connection to Harry after they two of them had split up, each following a different student to their class. Harry following Hermione to transfiguration and Meredy with Daphne to potions.

 _'No, the cruciatus was like your magic, but amped up to insane levels, it was more unrefined. Like it was the first piece in the puzzle to your entire magic, and with what we're doing now, imperious isn't that far a stretch.'_ Harry thought to her, matching her thought and raising her by the imperious.

 _'And the third was you, I haven't gotten to see you use it too often, but the rush of wind, the split second whispers, the killing curse is death magic in its rawest form'_ Meredy pointed out to Harry.

 _'My magic is different, mine siphons the magic out of a person as it hits, letting the energy back into the world. This spell is different, it tears a hole in the veil between life and death and sends a person's magic onto the afterlife, killing them. If I were to guess, that spell is the reason there are so few wizards that are even S-class here, much less wizard saint level. If this curse never existed, I would bet this world would have as much as, maybe even more magic than Earthland.'_ Harry explained, thinking back to all the lessons he had with Death. Now he questioned whether it was this world's death or his own who taught him, or was the same entity responsible for death in every world. Harry could only ponder.

 _'If your explanation is accurate, you may well be right, which means magic is going extinct here.'_ Meredy finished the unpleasant thought as she reached the dungeon.

The two kept discussing until dinner, testing how long Meredy could hold the link up for, around three hours max before she had to drop it to avoid exhaustion.

That night, after everyone had long fallen asleep, Harry remained awake, poking at the fire Natsu had lit in the fireplace, lost in thought.

"Can't sleep?" a voice asked behind him, revealing a tired looking Meredy, rubbing one of her eyes. In a baggy shirt and loose pants, yawning lightly. The look caught Harry off guard as he felt something in his chest flutter.

"Nervous, normally when I go on an S-class job, I know what I'm getting myself into, I can plan and react to any small changes that might occur. This is different. This world plays by different rules, rules that say even the slightest misstep on my part can mean the rug pulled out from under me, everything for nothing." Harry said, his gaze torn away from the sleepy Meredy.

"It's not just that is it?" she asked sitting on the couch next to him, laying one of her arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer to her. "You feel lost, like everything you had planned for just stopped and flipped on you." Meredy said, stifling a yawn. Harry nodded, his gaze never leaving the fire.

"You aren't alone. It was only a few months ago Natsu and Lisanna lost everything, Lisanna for the second or third time if the things I hear about Edolas are true. Laxus got expelled from Fairy Tail, and while he hides it well, emotions are my thing, I know he misses his grandfather, worried beyond belief about him. Ultear is a complete mess, she had no self worth right now, only living for the next moment. And then there's us, going from a lifelong revenge quest to regaining what we thought we had lost, all of us are searching for answers, you aren't alone." Meredy said gently and Harry finally turned away from the fire.

"So what do we do, finish the tournament, find some way home, then what. You and Ultear are still being hunted by the magic consul, Natsu and Meredy are consumed by guilt, and Laxus would never be accepted back to the guild, no matter how far it's fallen." Harry asked, unshed tears in his eyes in a rare moment of weakness, his mask completely shattered.

"It's like I told you all those years ago Harry. Magic is the key. Magic will give us a home, and if no guild will accept all of us, then we'll make one of our own." Meredy promised taking Harry's hand gently and taking the fire poker from him and laying it down in front of the fire. "That starts tomorrow, when you go into that task. You have to be ready for anything, which means you need sleep, so rest Harry, the morning will come quickly."

Meredy and Harry both fell asleep on the couch in front of the fire, holding each other like they had all those years ago.

"Well well well, I didn't know I would have to give you the talk again Meredy, I thought once was enough." Ultear's teasing voice woke Harry and Meredy the next morning, and they were greeted by the grinning faces of all their friends.

Meredy was first to notice their position and how she had used Harry as a mattress basically and gave a squeal and jumped off him, falling on the ground with an omph.

Everyone laughed at Meredy, who just crossed her arms and pouted.

At breakfast, Harry was barely picking at his food until Lisanna of all people shoved a forkful of sausage into his unsuspecting mouth. Harry glared at her, but the effect was ruined by the sausages sticking out of his mouth.

When the time for the task came, Laxus led Harry to a tent, gave him a serious nod, then walked back to the other judges. Harry cautiously entered the tent. The other three champions were already inside, each wearing colored robes. Seeing as most of the monsters Meredy and Ultear had looke dup breathed fire, a bad decision.

Harry himself had forgone his usual trench coat and opted for the simple loose pants similar to what Natsu wore except black with green edging and a tight shirt of the same color scheme and a large Fairy Tail emblem on the back.

"Welcome champions and all, to the first task. Your task will be to retrieve the golden egg." Bagman said as he bounced in happily, holding a small felt bag.

"Of course, you have to face a guardian before you can reach the egg, so I leave the choice to you, ladies first I believe." Bagman said, offering the bag to Fluer, who reached in and pulled out a green scaled mini dragon with the number two hung around it's neck.

"The Welsh green." Bagman said, turning to Krum next. He pulled out a red dragon with the number three. "Chinese Fireball." Bagman said, already turning to Cedric, who selected a powder blue dragon with the number one. "Swedish Short Snout." Bag man said before he turned to Harry.

Harry knew his dragon would be last, making it the nastiest of the bunch, so when he reached inside the bag, his hand being bitten wasn't as large a surprise as it could have been.

"The Hungarian Horntail." Bagman said while Harry studied the moving figure as it breathed a small blast of fire at him.

As Cedric lined up at the starting gate, preparing himself, Harry sent a thought to Meredy over their thought link. _'It's dragons, based off the small model they gave me, fire dragons, have Lisanna keep Natsu calm, then the fire dragon plan.'_ he said to her. Harry felt the link between him and Meredy shift to him and Natsu.

The fire dragon slayer's mind was surprisingly organized, no random thoughts leaking through. It was when Cedric's name was announced and he ran out into the arena that Natsu's mind exploded. He wasn't pleased a dragon was brought out in chains, his threats aimed at both the British government and Dumbledore were some of the most creative Harry had ever heard.

 _'Calm down Natsu, I know you hate this, but you need to focus, I'm going to need your help to win.'_ sent over the mental link. That, combined with Lisanna's calming presence Natsu reigned his thoughts in, and also stopped yelling threats at anyone who harmed a dragon.

 _'Ok Harry, but after this, I want help in freeing all the dragons.'_ Natsu thought to him, and Harry gave his agreeal.

 _'Ok, so Meredy will link me to your magic when I start, but I won't be able to eat any fire, my own slayer magic will prevent that, so what should I do, you're the one who's fought an actual dragon?'_ Harry asked as Natsu watched Cedric, the sudden gasp by the entire crowd signalling the dragon doing well.

Natsu gave him instructions as the other competitors had their turns at the dragon. Natsu momentarily let his anger get the better of him during Krum's turn, returning to his threats to immolate him one limb at a time, starting with the reproductive one.

When the Bagman announced Harry's turn, Harry felt Meredy place a second link on him, this one giving his access to Natsu's magic, which was considerably larger than what Harry had expected.

Harry was about to walk out into the arena when Natsu sent him a thought. 'It's above the doorway, be ready.' he said and Harry froze where he stood, this dragon was clearly prepared, and more intelligent than the wizarding books said.

Harry waited in the entry way until he and Natsu came up with a plan, ignoring the announcer who said he had frozen in fear. Harry pulled on Natsu's magic, forming it around his hands and used it like a rocket booster, shooting him forward and passed where the dragon was waiting, just missing being crushed as the dragon dropped down from it's perch.

Harry spun around to face the dragon. It was much larger than the model, it's dark gray scales contrasted by the ivory spikes that covered its body and tail. It's eyes were a fierce yellow. If Harry hadn't seen the mini dragon spitting fire, he might have thought it was a darkness or shadow dragon.

The dragon roared at Harry and it's mouth started to glow before it spat a blast of fire at Harry, which Harry matched with a fire dragon's roar, but the blast of fire was barely able to fend off the dragon's fire.

Harry quickly jumped into action, being careful to avoid the spiked tail swung at him, Harry let loose a barrage of Fire dragon's iron fist and talons, each pushing the dragon back slightly, blackening the scales even further. When Harry landed several hits on the same place, he managed to crack some of the scales.

That small triumph was overshadowed by the dragon spreading it's wings and taking off with Harry still on it's back, clinging onto one it's spikes as tightly as he could. Bagman was going crazy down in the box, but Harry was ignoring him, despite Natsu laughing his ass off at Harry in his head, and probably out loud as well.

"Ok, enough of this fight the dragon gently shit." Harry complained and started climbing the dragon's spikes towards its head, his hands on fire, causing the dragon some minor discomfort at it tried to shake him loose in the air.

When Harry had climbed to the head, he secured his grip with one hand and struck down with the other, "Fire Dragon's Crushing Flame!" Harry called, swiping over the dragon's face, carving a series of deep gashes along the side of the dragon's face, blinding it in one eye.

The dragon crashed to the ground, flailing in pain, Harry barely able to leap off in time to avoid being crushed, only receiving a few scratches from his scrape with the ground.

 _'Bind it, then grab the egg'_ Natsu's strained voice came through the link, the beginning signs of exhaustion could be heard.

Harry quickly began forming and manipulating the magic as Natsu instructed, flame ropes going around the dragon, sealing it's mouth shut and wings and claws to it's chest.

Harry focused his mind on holding the flames in place while he dashed to the nest of eggs, grabbed the golden one, and made his way to the exit.

When Harry entered the victor's tent at the far side of the arena, he felt both links with Natsu break and a body slammed into his own, almost making him drop the egg he had fought for.

"Damn it Harry, can't you do anything simply?" Meredy complained, but her voice was muffled by Harry's shoulder.

"Of course not, it wouldn't be fun otherwise." Natsu walked in, looking slightly punch drunk, but smiling ear to ear.

"You did well, it would seem the dragons of this world are a far cry from the stories on our own." Ultear said as Harry separated himself from Meredy.

"You have your score to receive, just go back out to the judges." Lisanna said as she slng one of Natsu's arms over her shoulder, gesturing for Harry and Meredy to go back out of the tent.

When Harry and Meredy exited the tent, they were met by a roar of the crowd and the six judges sitting in a row of throne like chairs, Laxus looked quite smug on his.

Dumbledore went first, holding his wand in the air a ribbon shot and formed a 9. Maxine also gave Harry a 9. Crouch was an 8 and Bagman was a surprising 10. Laxus was up next, and unlike the wand wizards, he snapped his fingers and a 7 made of lightning formed in the air. Harry sent him a mock glare, which Laxus shrugged at. Karkaroff was the only one left, he held up his wand and the ribbon formed a 2.

Boos sounded through the arena at Karkaroff, who had stuck his nose up.

"That puts you tied for first with Krum, but only because of blatant favoritism by Karkaroff, Laxus judged everyone harshly and Dumbledore and Bagman lightly. The french girl is second and hometown hero in dead last, got burned across the face." Meredy said as she and Harry walked to the hospital tent, where the school nurse was waiting. Harry just brushed her off, focusing instead on Bagman, who had come to give further instruction.

"Excellent job everyone." Bagman said, bouncing lightly on his feet. "The second task will be on February 24th, and what this task will entail is hidden within the eggs you all just won, between now and the second task, it is up to each champion to unlock the secret of the egg, and prepare accordingly." Bagman finished, and he left the tent with a skip in his step. Leaving four champions gazing at their spoils curiously.

That night, all six Earthland wizards were hunched around the egg.

"I was told what this one is Harry, and I also warned the other judges you wouldn't like it, but be ready for anything, that's all I can say." Laxus said before he stomped off to bed, his new fur lined cloak trailing behind him.

"There's a latch, I think the egg opens." Ultear said, her hands running down the sides of the egg carefully, stopping at the top where a star like emblem rested.

"Go ahead, you and Meredy are my research team anyway." Harry said and Ultear opened the egg.

The egg gave a powerful wail that rang through the room, making both Natsu and Harry, who had sensitive hearing, jump and cover their ears, their eyes watering in pain. Meredy was the fastest to regain her wits and slammed the egg shut, stopping the terrible sound.

"Well, this may be a problem." Harry said, gazing at the egg, his ears still ringing from the unholy shrieking.

 **And tada, first task. I was going to get a lot more typing done than I did, but I forgot to charge my computer before I got on the plane and only had so much time.**

 **On a different note, I got several new story ideas, and typed the first one and a half chapters for one, but it's pretty bad, so that will be staying on my computer until I think of an actual story line.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own FT or HP**

After most of the Earthland wizards had fallen asleep, Natsu and Harry crept out of the castle. They made their way through the forest carefully. After a few minutes of sneaking, they found where the dragons were being held.

There were four large metal cages, each glowing blue with runes, keeping the dragons trapped within. When the Chinese Fireball tried to shoot fire at the barrs, five of the wizard handlers shot freezing spells at it, hitting it in it's already damaged eyes. Natsu was growling at the sight.

"You free the dragons, I'll handle the little wizards." Natsu growled as he stalked towards the wizard handlers, not giving Harry to protest.

Harry crept over to the cages as Natsu caught fire and stomped towards the dragon 'tamers', fire swirling around him in an intense inferno.

"Listen up, dragons are majestic and intelligent creatures, and I'm not going to let you keep them in cages." Natsu growled, stalking towards the group of wizards that all had their wands trained on Natsu.

Harry carefully snuck around the confrontation, making his way towards the cages. When he reached the first cage, a quick lightning shot blasted the locks off the cage and the door creaked open, and the Welsh Green took off into the skies.

Harry repeated this process with the other dragons, stopping briefly to knock the ice off the Fireball. After that was done and the dragons were on their way, Harry hopped into a tree to enjoy the show.

The following half hour was a showcase of Natsu impressive skills as he pummeled the group of about a dozen wizards into the forest floor, not only in dodging the spells thrown at him, but keeping the fire cool enough to not melt anyone

"I think they got the message, what do you think Harry?" Natsu asked as the two walked out of the forest together, leaving mostly melted cages and a pile of knocked out wizards behind.

"I think I am going to be blamed for causing the mess." Harry answered in an annoyed tone, but the mirth shown through his eyes

The following weeks differed from those before the first task in that people were now terrified of Harry. Even Malfoy seemed to have grown a respect for the young mage. Dumbledore had complimented him on his use of such fantastic fire magic for such a noble purpose as to free the imprisoned, although he also told Harry to be more discreet in the future. Harry spent the whole meeting alternating between trying not to laugh at how stupid Dumbledore sounded, and restraining himself from knocking the old geezer out.

Harry didn't mind the respect, but he figured they would run in terror if they saw what he could actually do.

Hermione was the only one Harry had hinted to that he may not have been using his real powers, mentioning to her that Laxus had been his teacher. After that Harry saw her rifling through a notebook with each of their names listed on it. Each name had several observations made on it and Laxus and Natsu had lightning and fire listed next to their respective names. Harry saw his own had said fire, but it had been crossed out, all three girls had question marks next to a few notes.

December started quickly after the first task, and with it, a need for warmer clothing and snow, plenty of snow. Natsu kept complaining it looked like Gray had exploded all over the outside, making Lisanna laugh.

December also brought the Yule Ball, which was brought to his attention by Professor McGonagall after he watched one of her advanced classes that had Cedric in it.

"Mr. Potter, I am not sure if anyone told you or not, but on Christmas, that would be December the 25th, there will be a traditional Yule Ball. As you are a champion you will be expected to attend, as will Laxus as your representative judge. You will also be required to bring a date and take part in the opening dance with them." she told him.

At first, Harry thought he had heard her wrong, but when the Professor didn't change her straight face, Harry gave a reluctant nod and then went to his and Laxus's room and hid.

When Laxus found him that night, he laughed at Harry's misfortune until he found out he was required to go. That shut him up pretty quick. When Lisanna heard about the dance from Luna, who she had become friends with, she immediately went to Natsu asked demanded he ask her to the dance, which he then did in a fiery display. Natsu would later say that Lisanna's glare when he asked why put Mira's best to shame.

It took Harry a day after hearing about the ball to ask Meredy, to which he got a resounding yes and a tight hug he returned awkwardly, his face blushing scarlet and his chest fluttering.

Of course, the upcoming ball meant shopping, and Ultear, Meredy, and Lisanna all insisted on using the three boys as dress up dolls for an entire day, which none of them were pleased about. Laxus was especially upset when Ultear insisted on him trying on a pair of robes that had frills and lace, making it look like it was hundreds of years old, not to mention it had mold growing in the armpits.

Ultear and Meredy had made some progress on the egg, but it was more what the clue wasn't than what it was. They had ruled out dragons again, as well as a fair amount of other creatures. The current theory was an air based obstacle course, which Harry was confident he would do well in if that was indeed the case, but just in case, he practiced in his lightning form out in the forest with Natsu and Meredy, refining his technique and increasing his speed.

Meredy and Ultear were both uncertain with this, most past cases were retrieval missions again, the first Triwizard tournament even used people, except that all the hostages got killed in the process, so that was scrapped years ago.

By the time classes got out and the Yule ball grew closer, Harry's nerves grew, both about the tournament, and the ball. Before the group of mages knew it, Christmas had come, which translated to Natsu running around like a six year old, fire shooting out of his mouth as he got everyone awake for presents.

His crusade never made it Laxus however, who flicked a large bolt into his chest and knocked him out for another hour so everyone could have a lie in.

The second time he awoke, Natsu wouldn't be silenced until everyone came down to the shared lounge area, where a tree had been set up and presents piled in front of it. Natsu bounced around like a happy puppy, passing out gifts to everyone, Lisanna helping him once she was awake enough to deal with her overly hyper boyfriend. Harry and the others laughed when she finally snapped at Natsu, stuffed a santa hat on his head over his eyes and pushed him into a chair and took over his role in gift passing.

The gifting didn't take long, as they were mostly from each other with a few odds and ends from people around the school. Laxus, who had made most of the shopping runs, except for his own which was handled by a smirking Ultear, had gotten all four of the younger mages different books on how to disarm an opponent with a wand, and for Ultear, he had found the most provocative lingerie anyone had ever seen, the entire group except Laxus was blushing, until Ultear turned the tables on him, jumped on his lap, and asked if he was that desperate. Suffice to say who got the last word in there.

Natsu's gift were cheesy and somewhat embarrassing, only Lisanna got a serious gift, a pair of tickets to a wizarding creature reserve on New Year's Day. He earned himself a solid snogging for that.

Ultear, Meredy and Harry went along the same lines as Laxus, various and obscure books on this world's magic that closely related to each person's, Harry had even managed to uncover a book on ancient dragon and included several chapters on if they potentially had riders or not. Natsu was over the moon.

All too soon, lunch rolled around and the girls threw the boys out with strict instructions not to come back until that evening to get around themselves for the ball.

Laxus wandered off almost immediately, leaving Harry to deal with a hyper Natsu. Seeing as Natsu caused the least trouble when sleeping, eating, and when Erza was threatening him, Harry took option two and led Natsu down for lunch.

Hermione was immediately on the two, giving Harry and Natsu her thanks, which Harry returned as Natsu stuffed his face. After a short conversation Natsu dragged Harry outside for what he called a war on the essence of Gray, which when translated from crazy, means a snowball fight with the Weasley twins and anyone else they could drag into it. At first Harry tried to resist joining in, but Natsu dragged him into it and Harry wound up smiling and laughing alongside him, pelting everyone, acting his age and a little younger for once.

After warming up a little in the Great Hall, Natsu and Harry made their way back to their rooms behind the tree painting. Natsu's wardrobe for the night had been laid over the back of the coach, with a note from Lisanna saying he better be wearing everything she had laid out or else.

Harry and Natsu changed quickly, Laxus was already in the hall, helping with the final preparations. Before the two went down to the entrance hall to wait for their dates like so many others were doing, Harry gave one last glance in the mirror and at his friend.

Natsu had forgone the fiery tie Lisanna had picked out for him, wrapping his normal scarf from Igneel loosely around his neck instead. It did suit the outfit nicely though. Both the dark pants and deep red button up shirt had a faint pattern similar to Natsu's scarf, making Harry wonder if Lisanna expected Natsu to ditch the tie in favor of the scarf.

Harry was also wearing a suit like outfit, although slightly different from Natsu's. His pants were mostly the same, just missing the scale pattern, but Harry's loose shirt was a leather like material that reflected natural light, making him shine a faded black, he also wore a suitcoat, which Natsu had foregone.

Laxus met the two as they made their way into the entrance hall, his apparel was the same as Natsu except for his shirt was a faded gold and he wore his purple fur lined cloak over it, making him look slightly like royalty.

"Any idea when we're going to get to eat?" Natsu asked Harry as the three waited in the small crowd of students that were passing through, or in the case of the other champions, waiting near the great doors with their dates.

"That should be the least of your problems right now Natsu." Laxus grunted to him, and Harry nodded in agreement, any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of the girls of Earthland.

Lisanna was first down the steps. Her dress was a faded red, similar to Natsu's shirt, but slightly different. It had light frills running through it, poofing out slightly near the bottom. The deep red of her dress went with the reflective bright red jewelry she wore, accenting her angular face. The entire outfit had a whimsical feel to it, like a fairytale princess. She pulled a stunned Natsu into the Great Hall as Ultear made her way down the steps next.

Her clothing was much more risque than Lisanna's. While Lisanna's dress had bits of childish whimsy thrown in, Ultear went for a bold statement. She wore a deep purple evening gown with a slit in the legs, allowing her freedom to move. She had a light jacket the same faded gold as Laxus's shirt placed loosely over her bare shoulders, but still open, revealing a healthy amount of cleavage, drawing the eyes of most boys in the hall, the ones that weren't preoccupied with staring at Fluer that is.

Meredy was the last down the steps, and Laxus had to give him a light shove to get his brain working again. Meredy was in a similar outfit to Harry's, the same reflective black leather material made up parts of her dress, streaking across a normal fabric in wavy stripes. While her dress was not anywhere near as revealing as Ultear's, did leave one of her shoulders bare and tightened around her chest and hips, accenting her developing hourglass form. Her short hair was out of its usual lightly tousled look and was held back by a pin with a small skull, making her hair almost touched her shoulder blades.

"You look amazing." Harry managed to get out while offering his arm to the slightly blushing Meredy. "But why the whole dark look?" he asked as they fell into line behind Cedric and Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw the entire group was not overly fond of.

"After a little looking, Ultear and I figured this look would best paint a picture to Dumbledore, make him panic, worry you were turning dark." she said, giving a nervous look at Harry, searching for approval.

"I think it looks good, and I'm not wearing something awful like neon and lace, so fine by me." Harry said with a laugh. As he said that though, a heavily blushing and upset Ron Weasley stormed into the hall, wearing what looked like someone's Grandmother's nightgown, complete with the mold stains in the armpits.

"Champions and your guests, I welcome you to the Yule ball, and without further ado." McGonagall said at the doors and the four couples made their way into the Great Hall.

The hall was decorated with lifelike ice rose statues, which Ultear clearly played a role in making, tables that sat around 8-10 people were scattered throughout the hall, the head table had been expanded and now sat 15. The champions and their dates were led to the head table, where the heads of the schools, Bagman, a red haired boy, and Ultear were already seated. Harry wound up between Meredy, who had taken the seat to Ultear's left, and Cedric.

"Welcome everyone. Before the grand festivities begin, let us all dig in!" Dumbledore stood up announced, then took his seat again. Unlike what most people expected, food did not magically appear on the plates.

Dumbledore then spoke to his plate in a clear tone, "pork chops." and pork chops appeared on his plate. This method of ordering soon spread through the hall and the meal began.

"So Harry, have you figured out your egg yet?" Cedric asked good naturedly as everyone was eating, drawing the attention of Meredy, who had been having a conversation with Ultear.

"Not yet, it is tricky, but I have a few untested theories still, and some rough ideas." Harry admitted.

"Well no clues for me then huh, oh well." Cedric mused, sighing. A nudge in his side from Cho prompted another question. "I'm sure you've gotten this question multiple times already, but how did you use fire magic at the scale you did without a wand?" Cedric asked in an almost rehearsed tone.

"That was just a few tricks I picked up from Natsu, he's the real pyromaniac." Harry said, nodding down at Natsu, who was sitting with Lisanna and Neville and a few others, Luna unfortunately wasn't asked and was too young to go.

"But that much magic without a wand is impossible, even Dumbledore couldn't do that." Cho protested.

"You have to remember we come from an entirely different world that all of you, we use and perceive magic differently, and while Harry is originally from this world, he learned magic our way, which does mean that everyone here does have the same potential." Meredy shot back, leveling a glare at Cho.

"I still think all of you coming from a different world is made up, how could Harry have gotten there and why hasn't anyone discovered anything like this before?" Cho questioned.

"Ever heard of a new discovery, or is change and improvement discouraged here?" Meredy growled back, her control slipping slightly, giving her a dark aura.

"Ok ladies, how about a different topic, like who has the ugliest outfit aside from Ron Weasley?" Cedric jumped in and Harry quickly jumped into the game, citing the goons who looked followed Malfoy looked like old mossy boulders. That got a few laughs and the conversation for the rest of the meal was of a more lighthearted tone.

"If everyone would please rise." Dumbledore announced after the food disappeared. With a wave of his wand, the tables cleared a large section of the floor and a band carrying traditional string instruments took the stage.

"Champions, if you would." Dumbledore said with a gleam in his eye that Harry noticed dimmed slightly when it passed over Meredy and him, point Fairy Tail.

The four couples lined up at one end of the dance floor while the band began to play.

"Please tell me you have some idea on how we're supposed to do this without looking like idiots." Harry whispered to Meredy as the took the first steps in the dance.

"Of course, just follow my lead and you'll catch on fast enough." Meredy's voice came through Harry's mind.

The opening dance went well enough, no one made a complete fool out of themself, and soon after, others started joining in on the dancing.

After the first song however, the band's instruments changed and so did their appearance, apparently whoever it was was a big deal, because most of the students started fangirl screaming.

After that the night progressed quickly, Harry and Meredy spending most of it on the dance floor, never further apart from each other than arms reach.

Students started leaving about halfway through, either as couples looking for a quiet corner, or alone to go to bed.

As the Ball itself was winding down, Harry and Meredy slipped out of the hall, making their way into the gardens.

Somehow, a the combined efforts of Professor Sprout and Ultear had created a masterpiece of ice and roses, each accenting the other perfectly. More than a few times, Harry and Meredy had to skirt around couples who were making out, both of them blushing when they saw the public displays of affection.

Finally Meredy and Harry found a quiet corner of the gardens that wasn't in use.

"Damn that was fun, who knew a wild party could be so much fun?" Meredy said with a laugh, taking a seat on a bench next to Harry, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Fairy Tail knew, just add alcohol and brawls started by Natsu and you have Fairy Tail in a nutshell." Harry answered, putting his arm around Meredy carefully.

"Makes me wonder why the structured attack plan didn't work, by all accounts, Fairy Tail was a loose cannon, power and no control, but Grimoire Heart still got its ass kicked." Meredy joked and Harry gave a light chuckle

"It's something I call the Fairy Tail effect, everyone may act like a complete idiot, strong but no discipline, but when things get tough, they prove why they are number one." Harry said, gazing up at the stars.

"Do you think we'll ever find a way home?" Meredy asked softly, "You heard what Cho said, dimensional magic is an unknown here, we may never make it back."

"Well, the goblet brought us here, that would be a good place to start on trying to go back, don't you and Ultear are the best researchers I have ever seen and Natsu makes the impossible probable, we will make it back." Harry told her, "We just need the right conditions to be met."

"The right conditions…" Meredy trailed off, staring at a distant fountain. "That's it Harry, instead of looking for a creature sound, the egg needs a stimulant, something to trigger it to give the actual clue!" she said and Harry felt a full smile spread across his face.

"Meredy, you're a genius!" Harry scooped her up in a tight hug, only loosening slightly so he could meet Meredy's eyes.

They both stared at each other for a second before Harry threw care to the wind and leaned in, putting his lips gently on Meredy's in a chaste kiss.

At first, Meredy didn't respond, and Harry began to pull away disappointed, but when Meredy felt Harry start to pull back, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and returned the kiss.

It only lasted a few more seconds after that before they separated, but both were wearing bright smiles.

"About time, I was starting to think I would have to pull a Lisanna and drag you into a broom cupboard to get you to do that." Meredy said with a light laugh.

"Well, I wouldn't be opposed if you still wanted to." Harry quipped back and both dissolved into airy laughter until their sides hurt, lost in the moment shared between them.

 **Well, that took way too long. I blame precalc, moving, and lacrosse. I have been trying to type, but I keep getting ideas for new stories, and I have written a few short chapters for those ideas, just to clear my head, I might post those stories later, but I want to finish at least two of the stories I have open first, NONE of which are abandoned, just really hard to write for**

 **Next chapter should hopefully come faster, but I'm not giving any timeframe until summer. Any comments and ideas are welcome, next chapter is the second task, which will get the ball rolling on the rage and Harry showing off a little, and the pairing has finally started, yeah.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	15. Chapter 15

**I don't own HP or FT**

After the holidays had passed and classes had begun for the normal students, Harry and the other mages, minus Laxus, began working in earnest not only to solve the egg, but to train themselves.

The egg, once Meredy had pieced together her hypothesis, was simple to solve, since opening the egg in the air hadn't worked, they tried having Natsu set it on fire, which made the shrieks louder if anything. After that was water, which solved their problem. Merpeople would keep the next clue in their lake, then Harry would have to go to the bottom of the lake to retrieve it. Ultear was in the process of trying to teach Harry the waterbreath spell she knew, which would allow a mage to breath underwater, but Harry was struggling.

Harry and Meredy were now in a relationship, and the betting pool they had suspected went to Lisanna, who had bet the day after Christmas. Although there weren't too many changes to their relationship on the outside, they both were much happier.

Natsu and Lisanna's trip to the animal reserve had resulted in Lisanna getting several new and powerful takeovers, which Natsu would help her train within a hidden grove within the forest that surrounded the castle, sometimes dragging the entire group out to train with them.

"Okay, how about instead of just individual fights, we try team matches?" Meredy suggested during one such training session, tucking her lengthening pink behind her covered ear.

"Ok, but what are the teams, keeping in mind each person's skill and power?" Ultear countered.

"Separate Ultear from Meredy and Laxus from Harry, they can work as a team as it is, force them to do something new." Lisanna suggested, which was met with grudging agreement.

The teams wound up being Laxus, Meredy, and Lisanna vs Ultear, Natsu, and Harry. Each team standing at one side of the grove.

Natsu was the first to leap into the fray, a wide smile stretched across his face. "Fire Dragon's ROAR" he called, everyone on the other side dodged, but Natsu hadn't been aiming for them, but at the line of trees behind them, he finished the roar with a quick spin, burning a circle into the ground.

"If anyone gets knocked out of the circle, they lose, ready?" Natsu called to a shocked Lisanna, Laxus and Meredy, but got nods in response. And just like that, chaos broke loose. Laxus shot straight at Natsu, turning into lightning as he did so, kneeing the Fire dragon slayer in the jaw, sending him back, Laxus went to knock him out of the circle, but was intercepted by Ultear, who knocked him back with her glass orbs.

Meanwhile, Lisanna,in her tiger soul form, and Meredy were slowly overwhelming Harry, who was trying to rely on only his lightning magic, not wanting to hurt any of his friends.

"Natsu, get off your ass!" Harry called to Natsu, who got up and jumped into the fray, helping Ultear contain Laxus.

"Maguilty Sodoms!" Meredy called, but instead of shooting off at Harry, two sodoms formed in her hands, Lisanna copied her, a flick of her wrist turned her bracelet into a staff.

"Weapons it is then, works for me." Harry said, holding his open had in front of him before stretching them apart, a pitch black scythe forming in his hands. "Death God's Reap." he said and jumped at the two girls, who countered just as quickly, Lisanna sweeping low with her staff and Meredy leaping up to meet Harry's strike.

Harry managed to jump over Lisanna's staff, but wasn't expecting her other hand to swipe out at him, knocking him off balance, giving Meredy the chance to slice at him with her sodoms. If they had been actual blades, Harry would have been seriously injured, but instead they passed through his torso, making the nerves that had been struck light up in pain.

"Well that stings." Harry muttered as he regained his footing and prepared his counter attack, taking off at Meredy, but switching direction at the last moment using the butt of the scythe to sweep Lisanna's legs out from under her. Lisanna felt a small portion of her magic drain away as she was hit. Harry almost never used his slayer magic, citing it was too dangerous to wildly throw around like Natsu always did, and Lisanna finally understood what he meant.

"Sensory link-Pain!" Meredy called, three gray lights shooting out of her hands, hitting Ultear, Natsu, and Harry, a runic wristband forming on them.

"So you finally fixed the magic share issue, impressive." Ultear said from where she was fighting Laxus, weaving through his fast charged punches, Natsu keeping Laxus from gaining his bearings too much, burning the ground beneath his feet.

The battle took a turn in Laxus's team's favor when Lisanna used one of her new takeovers.

"Takeover- Demiguise soul!" Lisanna called, a bright light surrounding her. In her new form, Lisanna wore a thick cape of fur over a body tight white suit, similar to what Meredy wore when she was a part of Grimoire Heart. Her hands and feet had small claws and a furry tail. A pair of skiing goggles covered her eyes, the entire outfit was white and had fur like patterns.

With a flick of her cloak, Lisanna vanished, much to Harry and most everyone else's surprise. Natsu was the only one who hadn't frozen for a split second, and it was time he put to good use. Natsu began sprinting through the circle randomly shooting fire everywhere, Ultear quickly reengaged with Laxus.

Harry, not sure what to do, sent a quick few bolts at Meredy before getting close enough to Laxus while he was focusing on Ultear and went to strike him with his scythe.

The blow never landed, instead Harry felt slashes across his chest, knocking him back. Meredy's links then went into play, making Natsu falter in his fire show and slowing Ultear enough for Laxus to land a haymaker to her face, knocking her to the edge of the circle, where Meredy was waiting and blasted her out of the circle with her maguilty rays.

"Well, this isn't looking good, anything on Lisanna's new takeover?" Harry asked Natsu as they went back to back, waiting for Laxus, Meredy, and the unseen Lisanna to make the first move.

"Demiguise soul. Demiguises can turn invisible and have short range future sight powers, which means we need to catch her off guard with a spontaneous action. Her greatest strength in this form is her stealth." Natsu said, sniffing the air.

"And we also need to be careful of getting hit, Meredy still has her links up." Harry reminded them, getting a grunt from Natsu in return.

"Well, here goes nothing then!" Natsu said and leapt at Meredy, his entire body on fire. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" he yelled, but Laxus was way on top of the situation, swerving out of the way. But Natsu's nose had done its job.

While Lisanna may have been invisible, Natsu could still smell her, and had picked up her scent right behind Laxus, and when Natsu had jumped at Laxus, Lisanna had been caught off guard, and when Laxus dodged, Natsu landed a clean hit on Lisanna, knocking her out of the circle.

Harry had leapt into the fight directly after Natsu, watching Laxus's dodge, and aiming right at his landing point. "Death God's Skull Eater!" he called, completely wreathed in dark energy, landing a vicious head to head blow on Laxus. While they both were temporarily stunned, and Natsu as well due to the links, Meredy sprinted at Harry with her sodoms, knocking him back. As he was falling out of the circle though, he spun and used his death magic to form a hand and grabbed Meredy's wrist with it, weakening her slightly and pulling her out of the circle with him, taking them both out of the fight, leaving the two dragon slayers facing each other, each cloaked in their own element.

Harry knew Laxus had more power and speed, but Natsu packed more firepower, and when he wanted too, he could be a battle genius. This would be interesting to watch.

"You ready Laxus, I never did get m match with you, so I'm all fired up right now!" Natsu yelled at Laxus, who gave a smirk in reply.

"If you want to do that, you'll have to be a bit faster Natsu." Laxus smirked and zipped off, turning into lightning. Laxus ran circles around Natsu, landing dozens of clean blows on the fire dragon slayer, but whenever he was forced close to the edge, Natsu pushed back with a roar or brilliant flame, giving himself time to find his way to the center of the circle again.

But despite his best efforts, Laxus was growing faster and faster, beating anything Harry had seen from him before when he wasn't in dragon slayer mode. With a final charge, Laxus threw his shoulder at Natsu, who could only let loose a large roar to try and push Laxus back, but Laxus pushed forward, smashing into Natsu, blasting him backwards out of the circle.

"That's how it's done." Laxus said from within the clearing smoke, but Harry instantly could tell something was wrong with his voice, it was gravely, like he had been gargling with sharp stones.

When the smoke finally cleared, Harry and the other's jaws dropped in shock.

"What, did the flame head burn my face and something?" Laxus asked, reaching up to his face, but his arm froze on the way. Laxus discovered why everyone had been staring at him. He was made entirely of a pale yellow crystal.

"Huh, well that's new." Was all he said.

A quick questioning of Hermione answered the question as to what happened to Laxus. Apparently, according to this world's non-magical science, if lightning reached a high enough charge, and then was suddenly stopped, it would harden into a crystal called opal.

Laxus was thrilled with the new development, a lightning mages biggest weakness had always been a lack of defense, as in no defensive lightning spells, with the opal form, Laxus could tank hits that he would normally have to dodge. Laxus immediately set out to have complete control of the ability, practicing day and night.

Of course, the tournament rules stated Laxus couldn't teach Harry directly, but he found a loophole, by showing Meredy and explaining it to her, she could pass on the information to Harry, who was picking up the skill fairly well, but he had yet to turn his whole body into opal.

As the date for the second task grew closer, Harry and Ultear continued to work at the water breathing spell, with limited success.

"Why is this so difficult, it's like my magic is fighting against the spell." Harry complained after another attempt where his magic gave out on him, failing to form the spell properly.

"It probably is why Natsu, Laxus, and Meredy all don't bother with the spell, lightning and fire are opposite to water spells, and while lightning may not be your primary magic, you still have a high skill level with it, more so than most other lightning mages." Ultear explained

"Then we need to find another way, something surefire, keep this as plan B."

"Then maybe we should look into things from this world, while there might not be a spell you can use, as you don't have a wand, there might be a potion you can buy." Ultear reasoned and Harry agreed.

A week before the task with still no results, Harry finally outsourced the task, asking Hermione and Luna. Hermione has stormed off the the library, while Luna made a passing remark about a the man in the trees before skipping on her way.

"Meredy, you seem to be best at deciphering what Luna says, what did she mean by a man in the trees?" Harry asked as they sat down to dinner.

"Maybe she meant a nature spirit, but most are female, so maybe not." Meredy said, rubbing her chin.

"Maybe she just meant someone good with plants?" Natsu added, pausing from his packed plate.

"That's too obvious, most of Luna's clues are more vague and nondescript." Meredy countered. Natsu merely shrugged and returned to his food.

"Maybe it is that simple, wait here for a sec." Harry said, getting an idea as he glanced at the Gryffindor table.

"Hello Neville, how were your classes today?" Harry asked, sliding into the empty seat next to Neville Longbottom, who he got on fairly well with, more so than any other of the Gryffindors.

"Well enough, seeing as I had potions today." Neville said, making a face.

"Potter, why don't you sit down here with us instead of loser Longbottom." Ron Weasley called from further down the table, despite his clear warnings to the redhead, he still tried to force his way into Harry's confidence, which annoyed him.

Harry rolled his eyes and casually flipped Ronald the bird, turning back to his conversation with Neville, who was openly laughing softly at the dumb Weasley.

"I will never understand why he keeps trying, you clearly don't like him." Neville said, pulling a Herbology book from his bag.

"How he is so stupid and his older twin brothers so genius I will never know, but them aside, if, per say, I need to find a way to breathe underwater, would there be a plant that could help me?" Harry asked, gesturing to the book Neville was holding.

"Gillyweed. It morphs your hands and feet into fins and gives you gills, depending on how much you consume will tell you how long the transformation takes." Neville answered in a heartbeat, flipping through his book quickly, stopping on a page with what looked like a ball of tentacles displayed and handing the book to Harry.

"Sounds like exactly what I need. Thank you man in the trees." Harry said, hopping up again, making his way back to Meredy with a grin on his face.

"Gillyweed." he told her simply, a shit eating grin across his face, handing her Neville's book.

"And how did you come across this wonderful idea?" she asked, speed reading the page quickly.

"Harry, I kinda need my book back." Neville came up to the table and Harry gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that Nev, got a little excited." Harry said, passing the book from a happy Meredy back to the plant genius.

"No problem Harry, happy to help." Neville returned a smile and was on his way.

"Well, that solves that problem, Lisanna should be almost done with her map of the lake by now, waterproof and all." Meredy said.

"Which means we just need to get some Gillyweed." Harry agreed.

The night before the task Harry snuck down to the dungeons, ordering Gillyweed would have taken far too long, so stealing it from 'The Great Dungeon Bat' was his best option. Harry quietly snuck down the stairs, following the path to the potions room Meredy had recommended to him, the ingredient stores he needed to get into were behind a large door within the classroom.

Harry snuck into the classroom fairly easily, from things were more difficult. Harry carefully let his slayer magic empower his eyes to check for defenses. The door was warded. Harry could recognize most simple nordic rune patterns by this point, but there was one ward in a curved slanted language Harry had never seen before. From what Harry could tell based on the positioning of the ward, it would activate on the way out, not on the way in, meaning that Harry could either decipher the ward from this side, or he could run in like Natsu and figure it out as he went.

Crossing his fingers, Harry slipped under the two wards he could bypass and into the supply cabinet. He rummaged through the cabinets and peered into various, but finding anything was difficult as nothing was labeled.

After almost half an hour of searching, Harry found the Gillyweed, it was tucked behind a small crate of dried skin and a jar of wings, after such an up close and personal look at most of the ingredients, Harry vowed to never take a potion unless necessary.

Now the hard part, Harry had to find a way to slip past the last ward. Harry stared at the text along the door frame and floating in the air, the curling letters taunting him. Harry felt like the closer he looked, the more screwed the letters became.

Harry finally gave a groan of frustration, at this rate it would be morning and he would be caught by Snape, who he had been warned by just about everyone was the worst person in the school.

Harry took a deep breath and calmed himself, taking a long hard look at the curly letters. And because he was expecting nothing, he was most surprised to see that the letters uncurled themselves and formed a readable ward.

'Only those marked may pass unharmed'

Harry had no idea what that meant, but the only mark he could think of was the dark mark, Tom Riddle's sign. So that meant Snape was a Death Eater, Harry had a new prime suspect for who was behind his appearance in these games.

While Harry now had the answer to the mystery ward, he had no way to bypass it, it wouldn't lift like the other two had, leaving him shit outta luck.

Clunk...Clunk...Clunk…

And the sound of the deranged Defense Professor coming down the staircase sealed the deal for Harry. Knowing his magical eye would see him, if it already hadn't, Harry turned into lightning and hid by the roof, hoping the keeping his form purely energy would keep him hidden, and maybe able to slip out of the cupboard behind the mad professor.

Harry watched Moody clunk his way into the storeroom, bypassing the two normal wards, but ignoring the third, the dark mark ward, and went straight to the skin and wings that had been in front of the Gillyweed.

"A few more pounds of Boomslang skin and a handful of lacewing flies should last to the end of the year." Moody muttered to himself, putting the pilfered ingredients into a small pouch at his waist that was resting next to his silver flask.

Moody turned and headed to the door, and pushed it open, marching through unharmed. Harry slipped out right behind him, sticking his electric form to the back of Moody's coat, making it safely out of the storeroom and it's mysterious ward. Harry detached himself still in his energy form and shot up to the ceiling, fast enough that he wasn't seen.

Sadly, waiting in the next room was the potions bat himself.

"Moody, good to see you exiting my personal ingredients store, care to explain why?" Snape asked Moody in a drawl tone.

"I'll have you know Severus, that Dumbledore gave me permission to check anywhere in the castle I was suspicious of, including his pet Death Eater." Moody growled, but Harry could tell he was nervous, he had seen too many masks to not notice.

"Dumbledore trusts me completely." Snape answered, and when Moody went to answer, Snape cut him off.

"And that trust is well placed. I recently added a new ward to my storeroom, one that you would be familiar with, one that the Dark Lord personally created." Snape said in a calm voice, but Harry could tell that he was smirking internally. "A ward that only allows his marked servants to exit and enter. I know Alastor Moody was never marked, that combined with the ingredients you are stealing, means you are an imposter."

Moody's wand was out in a flash, but Snape held up his hand. "I had suspected this since the beginning of the term, when I first discovered materials missing from my stores. Dumbledore instructed me to discover the fake, report to him, but do nothing beyond that. I will tell you that he is most pleased that you managed to pull Mr. Potter from his exile, he was growing quite upset with his missing savior. Continue on, just keep both eyes open, because everything you do now, is not because of your own merits, but because Dumbledore allows it." Snape finished and swept out of the room, leaving a stunned fake Moody and an equally shocked Harry.

Harry shot back to the Fairy Tail rooms and collapsed on the couch, processing all he had just heard. Moody was the one who had entered him, and Dumbledore was trying to pull strings. Harry had learned from Hermione that before his group had been transported into the castle, his name had shot from the goblet almost a hundred times. One of those would account for the Death Eater Moody, and most of the others were passed off as students wanting to see the Great Boy-Who-Lived compete. Now Harry suspected Dumbledore might have rigged things.

But those were thoughts for tomorrow. For now, Harry had to sleep, he would tell the group tomorrow after the task. As he went up to his room, Harry had no idea that later in the night, a crafty old man stealthily made his way into the Fairy Tail rooms and snuck back out with a hostage.

 **So this chapter was going to be the second task, but then it got to be 8 pages long in google docs without even starting the task, so I figured just stop it here and move on with life. Next chapter is second task and what happens after, including another look into the actions of delusional Dumbledore and Harry's reaction to Meredy being taken, it won't be good, not at all, for Dumbles at least.**

 **To answer any questions that come up about the wards. Harry has experience around runes and wards, Freed using them as his main form of magic, and on Earth, while they are invisible to most people, Harry can see them and disrupt them with his slayer magic. The third ward I mentioned, the parsel ward for those who didn't piece that together, will have a later explanation as for why Harry couldn't get past it.**

 **Reviews and favs have been coming in and I am stoked. I'm not sure if it's because of a bigger fan base for canon or because I am getting better at writing, but I'm loving it either way. Keep up the loves guys, it feels great.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't own FT and HP**

Harry was the first one awake the next day, he got dressed quietly in a black body suit for mobility with a vivid green Fairy Tail symbol on the front, flung a warm cloak around himself, making sure the gillyweed was in one of the pockets, and he made his way down to breakfast.

He noticed Laxus had beat him down to the head table and was whispering to Dumbledore in what seemed to be a fierce tone. Normally Harry would be able to hear them with his slayer senses, but Laxus was giving off a slight electrical pulse, electrosonic waves so precise that only a slayer could hear them, and prevented them from hearing too closely. Whatever they were discussing though had Laxus worried, and Dumbledore was shrugging off his concerns.

Harry started picking at his breakfast as Ultear, Lisanna, and Natsu came and joined him at the table, Luna right behind them.

"Harry, have you seen Meredy, she wasn't in her bed and I thought she would be down here?" Ultear asked and Harry was instantly on guard, for Meredy to be missing meant something was very wrong. He checked his wrist quickly and found he still had the permanent link that Meredy had placed on all the Earthland mages as a tracker was still there, but when he felt through it searching for Meredy, Harry found her end was being blocked.

"Something is blocking the connection, meaning she was taken, not out on her own free will." Harry answered quickly, reminding the others of theirs tracking marks.

"Damn, you focus on the task for now, the three of us will start combing the castle looking for any sign of Meredy" Natsu said in a dead serious tone, Harry had to blink back surprise, as did the others, Natsu rarely got serious, and when he did, things went boom.

"Searching won't help, Harry would find her before you did, and Hermione too I expect." Luna cut off any plans for a search party before they could be made.

"We've taken what you'll sorely miss, you don't think they meant…" Lisanna let her question trail off, but it was enough to spark a fire in Harry's eyes, a cold unrelenting flame.

"If they harmed a hair on her head, I will kill them all." He growled, not bothering to withhold the killing intent that was shooting off him and directed at the front table, more specifically, Dumbledore.

"So they took actual hostages and put them in the lake, how stupid can one get?" Ultear questioned angrily as the group made it's way down to the lake for the second task.

"This world seems to put that statement to the test." Lisanna agreed, pulling out a roll of paper and handed it to Harry. "This is the map I made, the hostages will probably be in a central location, the merfolk village, so based on where they start you, you can take the correct course from there, and while you aren't allowed to bring it with you, you can bring it onto the deck before the event officially starts."

Harry grabbed the map without a word and continued his trek to the task, while the others were mad, he was absolutely furious. Meredy had been taken from him once and now these half assed idiots had the nerve to try and take her from him again. Harry was going to make them pay, he was just holding in his true aura, but he was shooting off sparks with every step.

"Welcome one and all, to the second task, last night, someone near and dear to our champions was taken and hidden within the lake, their task is to retrieve them within an hour!" Bagman began his announcing, but Harry wasn't listening to that, he was focusing on trying to override the block that was keeping Meredy hidden from him, when he finally broke the spell, he was deeply alarmed.

She was almost smack in the middle of the lake, deep underwater, but beyond that, her magic was leaving her quickly, she was almost to the point of exhaustion. Harry was truly pissed now, sparks shooting off him at a faster pace, causing the other champions to step away from him in alarm, they clearly hadn't forgotten his explosive performance against the Horntail.

"And begin!" Bagman called, his wand shooting off a cannon like shot into the air and three of the four champions performed some sort of spell and dove into the water. Harry on the other hand, shot into the sky, completely turning into electricity.

Ignoring the exclamations from both the crowd and Bagman, Harry zipped to right over where Meredy was and shot himself downwards as fast as he could, crashing into the water like a bolt of lightning.

While normally, lightning would disperse when hitting such a large body of water, Harry pulled all his energy inwards and had hit the water completely made of glowing green crystal.

Harry used the gravity and force he had generated to quickly sink down to where Meredy was floating, suspended unconscious in the water, like a corpse.

The merfolk quickly noticed Harry's arrival, but did nothing to stop him. Harry used his sharpened fingers and tore the binding that was on Meredy's ankle apart and held her carefully in his arms, feeding her some of his own magic to make up for the magic that was leaving her faster now.

Harry tried to use the link to assess where her magic was going, whether it was a spell or something along those lines, but Harry didn't have a strong enough connection to Meredy at the moment, just the weak tracking link. Harry pushed that thought to the side a shot himself upwards, being careful to to let the charge coming from his feet didn't discharge into anything living.

Harry quickly reached the surface and landed back on one of the docks. Meredy also woke from her trance like state. Harry carefully set her back down and hugged her tightly, letting his crystal form disperse.

"Not that I'm against this, but why am I soaking wet and on a raft?" Meredy asked from Harry's arms.

"That would be Dumblefuck's fault, you go get warm while I got give him a piece of my mind, just to clarify, what was the last thing you remember?"

"I had just gone to bed, next thing I know you're pulling me out of the lake." Meredy answered and Harry nodded, then stormed off to the judges table, his entire expression wrought with fury.

"A job well done Mr. Potter, you shall receive your score when the other champions return." Bagman said cheerily as Harry approached the table.

"Which one of you dumb pieces of shit abducted Meredy while she was asleep?" He asked, his teeth gritting.

"It was a part of the task Mr. Potter, no harm would come to her." Dumbledore started, but Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons headmistress cut him off.

"You had told us each hostage was willing Albus, why am I now hearing you have kidnapped children, were the other hostages unwilling?" she questioned him, Dumbledore went to reassure her, but was distracted by Fleur exiting the lake, covered in harsh slash marks, a trident lodged in her upper arm.

Madame Pomfrey was on her immediately, healing the cuts and working carefully round the spear, carefully to to jostle it.

Harry went up to her carefully, injuries aside, Fleur seemed to be besides herself, speaking quickly in another language Harry assumed was her home tongue.

"What happened in the lake Fleur?" Madame Maxime came from behind Harry, crouching so she was eye level with the hysterical witch.

After a brief conversation between the two in the other language, Maxime was storming back to the judges table, her wand drawn.

"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" she thundered, pointing her wand between the old geezer's eyes. "I'm not sure why or how, but taking an eight year old from her home in another country to use as a hostage crosses every line imaginable, did you forget who her father was, and the blood feud between Veela and Merfolk while you were at it?" she yelled at him, Dumbledore seemed to shrink in his seat as Maxime chewed him out.

As much as Harry enjoyed watching Dumbledore getting verbally destroyed, Harry had a more important matter to attend to now.

"Fluer, what happened in the lake?" Harry asked the hysterical witch who was being treated by Madame Pomfrey.

"Merfolk and Veela hate each ozzer, one entering zeir territory iz an insult in the 'ighest form, two iz a declaration of war. Dumbledore only bound them for an hour to not 'arm my seester, but they tried as 'ard as zey could to kill me, and when the hour iz up, my seester will be slaughtered." she managed to get out all while flinching in pain as she was treated.

Meredy who had been listening in from the next bed over nodded at Harry when he gave her a sidelong glance.

"I'll see if I can do anything." Harry told the sobbing French witch, ignoring her blubbered thanks as he left the small tent.

Back outside the makeshift hospital, Madame Maxime was still shouting at Dumbledore, coming up with a few very descriptive curses Harry noted for use later. Harry knew this would exhaust him, but he charged himself again, remembering the feeling of doing it to save Meredy and he zipped up and crashed back into the lake.

Once again in his crystal like form, Harry allowed himself to sink downwards instead of propel himself, conserving energy he would undoubtedly need to fight off the merfolk. As he sunk, Harry saw Cedric with a large bubble over his mouth and nose swimming upwards, dragging Cho the bitch behind him, he gave Harry a strange look, but shrugged it off and kept swimming upwards.

As he sunk lower, Harry saw a shark man that must have been Krum grab Hermione and swim away, good, that meant Harry only had to worry about not hitting Fleur's sister with his spells.

As Krum swam away, the merfolk, around fifty of them began to circle to small blonde girl who was still suspended in the water, each armed to the teeth, a red paint on their blue and green skin in various designs. It was the beginning of a warband if Harry had ever seen one.

Harry quickly shot himself down the last few meters, and wrapped his arms around the small girl, shielding her from the overpowered shock wave he gave off.

Quickly destroying the rope holding her down, Harry started the trip back up, making use of the stunned merfolk. While some had been knocked out, maybe killed, most had only been knocked back and surprised, and were now chasing after him.

Harry knew he wouldn't win in a race to the surface, which meant he needed to fight the merfolk off as they ascended.

Harry made it a good distance before the first wave of merfolk caught up to them. Harry sent Fleur's sister a little ways up and grabbed the tail of the first merfolk who tried to swim past him at the girl.

The merfolk's shocked expression quickly became one of pain as Harry sent lethal levels of electricity through it before letting go and moving onto the next one, each time he struck one of the elusive warriors, Harry hit it with enough electricity to turn it into a fishstick.

When the first wave was dispersed, Harry shot himself up to the small girl again and continued upwards again.

The merfolk didn't strike again until the were nearly at the surface, but this time they had learned and kept far out of Harry's reach. Their arrows and spears didn't bother Harry's crystal skin, but they did have one thing that had him severely worried. The giant vicious squid which had been worked into a frenzy.

It gave a shriek and the merfolk released it at Harry, who used what little power he could muster and shot both himself and the french girl onto one of the platforms and out of the water, but that didn't stop the squid. It's tentacles came up out of the water and smashed through the medical raft, Krum got knocked back into the water, but quickly made his way to one of the stands that was floating on the water.

The squid continued it's warpath, a tentacle sweeping over the judges table, most got out of the way in time, but the redhead who was filling in for Crouch was knocked out as well as Karkaroff.

Students were screaming and trying to get to the boats, but the merfolk were attacking any of the small rowboats that tried to depart. Several students had been stabbed, but none of the injuries were fatal.

Several teachers and spectators, including Madame Maxime were firing spells at both the squid and the merfolk, but nothing they did had any effect.

Finally Laxus had had enough and turning his whole right arm into lightning and zipped towards the squid's head and landed a devastating uppercut, lifting the giant squid completely out of the water and it gave a loud shriek in pain.

"Fire Dragon's ROAR!" Natsu had made his way to the top of the stands and roasted the squid. When it landed again, it floated uselessly on the surface of the lake, clearly dead.

At this point the merfolk knew they were out matched and their shadows that could be seen beneath the surface retreated back into deeper water.

"And that concludes the second task, if the judges could come together now to discuss scores." Dumbledore said, his voice amplified by a spell.

Instead of the applause he expected, Dumbledore found himself being glared at by every person on the lake.

 **Short and maybe not what people expected, but viola, another chapter done. Two and three more chapters until the third task from here, then a big storyline jump from there. The second task is usually boring how most people write it, so I tried to change things up a bit, add a bit more action. I know that Harry didn't get to directly explode at Dumbledore, but it's coming, tick tock.**

 **It has been pointed out to me that lightning DOESN'T make opal, so I'm just calling the solid lightning form a crystal/lacrima and going with that. While in that form, the mage's body is in a kind of stasis, negating the need to breathe, which means Harry uses it for the task.**

 **Another point, Lisanna's new forms. Yes I understand that doing a takeover absorbs that animal, and would be frowned upon. If I ever feel like writing related side stories to this one, Natsu and Lisanna's outing to the creature reserve would be on the list. Another point, instead of turning into the animals, I am treating the takeover like one of Lucy's star dresses, or Lisanna's tiger soul, a human form with the absorbed powers.**

 **Reviews encouraged and favs and follows are awesome too, positive response means chapters are written faster.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't own FT and HP**

That night, dinner was fresh squid, served in just about every way imaginable. Baked, fried, skewered,and sushi.

Of course, such a fine dinner also came with a show to match, namely, government officials and parents and the occasional bold student sending howlers to Dumbledore. The twins has filled one with that night's meal and rigged it to explode in the old man's face. They got detention from McGonagall, but everyone could tell it was grudgingly given, especially since one of the howlers had a suspiciously familiar Scottish brogue.

Harry was quiet the night after the task, and afterwards, he became more protective of Meredy. He didn't go overboard, following her to the bathroom and anything like that, but smaller things. Always holding her hand in the halls, hugging her more often, little things that would reassure him she was still there. The rest of the group noticed the new tendencies in Harry, but didn't say anything, if anything Meredy needed the reassurance as much as Harry.

It had put everyone on edge that Meredy had been taken from their room and none of them noticed. Harry and thrown himself into runes work until he could put a ward over each of the bedroom doors, using basic Elder Futhark runes, which would normally been easy to unravel and bypass, but Harry had slipped in a few lines of Earthland runes, the same kind Freed used, letting people believe they were simple easy to bypass wards, but in actuality, Harry and Laxus had set up a...shocking...surprise to anyone who tried to enter and wasn't one of the six mages from Earthland.

Beyond the increased security and awareness of their surroundings, the six all strived to train more, although the other headmasters were keeping Laxus's time occupied. The training consisted of just about everything the mages could think of, but the biggest project was one Harry and Meredy were working on.

"So we know the wizards here have those three bastardized spells that resemble our magic at extreme points." Meredy said as they went through a large stack of books in the library, everything they could find on the three 'unforgivable' curses.

"True, we need to break down the components of the spell and go from there, what is the overall goal and how is their manipulation of magic different from our own." Harry agreed, his eyes racing through line after line of text.

"Well, the Cruciatus, looks like pain at first, a torture method. Have any of the books said anything otherwise?" Meredy asked Harry, who was still rapidly flipping through the book.

"One of the books," Harry pointed to one he had read already, "talked about the nervous system in the human body and how the Cruciatus effects it. Mentions a couple that got driven into insanity because of being under it for too long."

"That should be easy to recreate, it's just a full body sodom, pressured out to the max, easy in theory, but that will require a lot of power, more than I think these wizards are capable of." Meredy said, studying the book Harry had pointed her too.

"That's probably why the curse drives people insane, they sacrifice the long term wellbeing of the subject to make up for their lack of power." Harry agreed.

"And I'm willing to bet both of the other spells will have similar reasoning behind them, these wizards only strength over Earthland mages is their diversity and creativity with spells." Meredy agreed, and the two of them quickly hashed out a structure for the second of the curses, the Imperius. Then came the hard one, the killing curse.

"There is nothing in any of these books that has the origin of the curse, that means someone has removed them, probably tall white and stupid." Harry complained as he slammed the last book shut, drawing a glare from the hawk like librarian.

"Then let's think, the current problem with the spell is it forcefully rips a tremendous amount of magic out of a person, no one has had enough magic to survive except for you, who has shown impressive magic containers, making it plausible that you could survive the curse again if you were at full power." Meredy stated, pointing at where Harry's scar had once been, but had long since faded to the point it was nearly unnoticeable.

"But there's also Moldyshorts to consider, from what the stories tell, after I survived, he didn't, which doesn't make any sense, I couldn't have reflected the magic at such a young age, which makes how he died a complete mystery." Harry added

"I think that casting the spell requires a price. Ultear told me she has one spell she can use that completely reverses all time, rejecting any events that happened for a certain amount of time, but it has a dire cost. She, and any other being alive, doesn't have enough magic to cast it successfully, so the price is exacted from her, for every minute she reverses time, Ultear will age 10 years. Maybe the price for casting the incomplete version of the spell, because the caster doesn't have enough magic, is to take the power from the person being targeted."

"That makes sense, let's say the original version was meant to be unblockable death, which seems to be the case, wizards casting the spell didn't have the power, so it would take the magic from the target, sending that beyond the veil as well. Now when I survived, my magic wasn't used as a price, so the price was exacted from the caster, taking his magic and killing him." Harry said

"Under that theory, we still don't know why you survived, but it makes sense." Meredy agreed, "But we still shouldn't try to recreate the spell until we know for certain the origin, intent is a large part of spell casting, if the starting emotion is wrong, you could be hit by backlash, which would be bad."

"Ok, we should start looking for where those books would be hidden, get Lisanna to ask around for a place to hide things." Harry agreed

So with the message passed on, the third task grew ever closer.

"Harry, Mr. Bagman wants you down at the Quidditch pitch for an explanation of the third task." The same boy who had called him for the weighing of the wands told Harry and Meredy, who were pouring over more books in the library, this time on Runes.

"Ok, I'll head down, you want to come Meredy?" Harry asked her, admiring her as she flipped through a book and chewed on her lip cutely.

"It shouldn't take too long, just go get it over with and come back quick, I think I have an idea." she said, not looking up from her book.

"Ok, be back in a few." Harry said, drawing Meredy's attention from the book for a brief second with a quick kiss before following the mousy haired boy out of the library.

Down at what Colin called the Quidditch pitch, Bagman was waiting with the three headmasters, Laxus and the other three competitors.

"Ok, and with everyone here, allow me to explain, can anyone guess what is behind me?" Bagman asked, gesturing to the low to the ground foliage that was growing on the field.

"Maze." grunted Krum, drawing an enthusiastic nod and smile from Bagman.

"Correct. And these hedges will be twenty feet tall when they're done growing. The third task will be simple, Harry, who has the most points, will be first into the maze, followed 10 minutes later by Mr. Krum and Mr. Diggory, and another seven minutes after that by Miss Delacour." Bagman explained, pointing to each champion in turn, Harry noticed the man seemed to address him with less formality than everyone else, less respect.

"Inside the center of the maze will be the Triwizard cup, and the first to grab the cup will be the winner, but first you will have to weave your way through the traps within the maze, as well as various creatures Hagrid will provide." Bagman explained

"So with that in mind, best of luck to all of you." Bagman dismissed them and Harry quickly made his way up to the castle, he was almost to the great door when he realized he was being followed.

Whoever it was was being careful, and Harry wanted to know who it was.

Harry carefully made his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, knowing Natsu and Lisanna were training right now, so he would have support if he needed it, which might be now that he was detecting not one, but three people following him.

"You three want to tell me why you're following me?" Harry asked, stopping just inside the tree line.

"Four actually, missed your count a bit there Potter." Viktor Krum stepped into view, three others from Durmstrang behind him, all with their wands drawn.

"Then you just gave away an advantage, shame." Harry commented.

"You're good Potter, and with whatever lightning thing you do, you'll get the cup before the rest of us set foot in the maze, and that's a problem, because I want to win." Krum said, glaring at HArry fiercely.

"So you followed me here, with a week before the final task, to make sure I can't compete, am I right?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's plan B, plan A is convince you to let me win." Krum said, watching Harry's every movement. "We out number you four to one, so think carefully Potter."

"Hmm, I think you should recount, it seems to be four on two actually." Harry said, gesturing behind them, making them all spin around.

Harry jumped at the opening, turning into lightning and slamming Krum face first into a tree, then zipping to each of his companions and taking them out with a few well placed electrified punches.

"No Krum, I won't let you win, and if you want to intimidate me, you're going to need a lot more than three people behind you.

And with, Harry walked back to the castle, leaving Krum with a viciously broken nose and three unconscious thugs to drag back to their ship.

The night before the final task was the final chance for Harry to sharpen his spells. While this task would be easier than the other two, by a long shot, he still wanted to be ready for anything.

It was a 2v2 match, Lisanna and Natsu facing Meredy and Harry. Natsu was in fire drave and tanking hits from both Harry, who was only using his electricity, and Meredy. Lisanna had vanished using her demiguise soul and was striking erratically at both Harry and Meredy, letting Natsu be an overpowered flaming distraction.

"Maguilty pulse!" Meredy called, letting out an all directional wave, hitting all three of the others. Natsu shrugged off the hit and Lisanna avoided, although no one could see her. Harry on the other hand, felt reenergized.

"Multipurpose in one blast?" He asked, sending a quick glance at Meredy.

"Yup, all that intent research made it easier." she replied and the two of them got back to work fighting Natsu, who still had the upper hand thanks to Lisanna's guerilla tactics.

"On the topic of research, want to try that one new spell we had been working on?" Harry asked Meredy, spinning around a fire dragon iron fist from Natsu.

"Might be worth a shot, Natsu and should I try and hit Lisanna." Meredy called back, leaping back to avoid a charging Natsu.

"If the energy theory is correct, Natsu would overpower the spell, when Lisanna shows herself, hit her with everything you got." Harry called back, quickly zipping into Natsu in his lightning form, keeping him back from Meredy while she prepared her spell.

"I got a trick to find her, invisible doesn't hide one from all senses." Meredy said, taking the time Harry gave her to close her eyes and reach out with her magic to find Lisanna.

"Maguilty-control link!" Meredy called, reaching out behind her, hitting the invisible Lisanna, whose invisibility flickered off when she got hit, a purple link mark around her forehead.

"Bullseye." Meredy smirked. "Now go get fire boy." she said to Lisanna and directed her towards Natsu, that was when things started to go wrong.

Lisanna took the first step towards the occupied Natsu, but then fell to the ground, holding her head, eyes glowing underneath the ski goggles that were a part of her Demiguise soul.

"What the hell!" Meredy exclaimed, drawing both Harry's and Natsu's attention.

"What happened?" Natsu asked, cancelling his fire drive and rushing over to Lisanna's side, quickly putting her in his lap and tearing the goggles off her face. Lisanna's eyes were wide open and glowing a slight gold.

"I was trying a new spell that Harry and I made based on one of the wizard's spells, something with her takeover must have changed the spell, triggering this." Meredy explained frantically, trying to cancel the spell, but the link stayed stubbornly.

"You couldn't have tried the spell on someone who, I don't know, was actually a bad guy!" Natsu yelled at Meredy who continued panicking.

"Both of you calm down." Harry ordered, shutting up both a frantic Meredy and a pissed off Natsu. "It's clear that something went wrong with the spell, the intended effect was a possession, similar to what Bixlow can do, but it is clear that when the magic flooded Lisanna's mind, something happened, and with the precognitive effects of the demiguise, my guess is the magic overloaded the skill and she is rapidly being shown visions, visions of things yet to come." Harry theorized, trying to calm Natsu down.

"Then when do you think she will wake…." Natsu's question was answered by Lisanna shooting into a sitting position, the gold glow fading out of her eyes and Meredy finally dispelled the attempt at a control link. Of course, when she woke up, her one arm shot upwards, clocking Natsu clean in the jaw.

"Are you ok Lisanna, I'm so sorry, I should have never tried to use that spell without testing it first." Meredy rapidly apologized, but Lisanna waved her off.

"It's fine, I'm fine, although that was a few very strange minutes. I kept seeing a graveyard, and you were there Harry, and a bright blue cup, and a large snake." Lisanna mumbled, her eyes staring out into space.

"You're fine Lisanna, the link just wound up interfering with your demiguise soul precognitive magic, and hence giving you a far reaching vision, which means I'm going to end up in a graveyard in the future, fun." Harry said dully. Natsu had recovered enough at this point and scooped Lisanna up in his arms, Lisanna silently shifted back to her normal form and buried her head into Natsu's chest.

"I think we're good on training for today. See you two later." Natsu said calmly and he made his way back up to the castle. Harry almost someone tried to stop the dragon slayer, while he appeared calm, he was a dragon slayer, defending his injured mate, which meant he was volatile.

"We should probably get some rest too, you have the third task in the morning and need to rest up." Meredy told Harry, still slightly shaken by what had happened to Lisanna.

"Yeah, tomorrow, we go home." Harry agreed solemnly.

 **As it has been pointed out to me, I have neglected to provide any depth to the villains of my story, namely, Dumbledore and Voldemort. This is a chapter from the Dumbledore side of things, a side view into him so to say. So without further ado, backstory.**

Albus Dumbledore was a man who had always heard how smart he was. When he was a small boy, his parents had praised him as a prodigy until his father was sent to Azkaban. Once he was at Hogwarts, all his teachers dubbed him as a genius, told him he would go very far in life. Albus grew to love these compliments, they helped to remind him that he would bring honor to his family name after his father had disgraced it.

But as always, pride came before the fall, and Albus's mother had died just before the end of his final year at Hogwarts, tieing the young genius to his unstable sister. Albus's was frustrated beyond belief, the grand future he had always been promised had been stolen from him. It was then, in one of his darkest hours, that he met a shining light.

Gellert Grindelwald was a genius mind to match Albus's own, one who had been equally shunned by the world. Gellert had been expelled from Durmstrang Academy for delving too deep into forbidden arts, and then been caught doing so. The day the two young wizards met, a beautiful partnership was formed.

For the next two years, Albus and Gellert were inseparable as they planned their takeover of wizarding Europe. They planned meticulously, but constantly hit the same snag in their plan. Albus was an idealist, he understood that unexpected situations could occur and wanted to be in a position that could best handle life's little surprises. Albus wanted to be seen as a champion of the people, even if he only ever cared for himself, to let others lift him up so he could know all and thusly, react to everything in an exact manner.

Gellert was more bitter, he despised those who shunned him back at Durmstrang. Gellert followed a more realist path, of a forceful takeover. To rule with strength and through fear, to let rebellions form and crush them one by one until no one dared defied him.

They debated their opposing viewpoints until one day they made a wager. Albus bet he could gain control of wizarding Britain using his method before Gellert could forcefully take over Europe.

With their wager made, Albus and Gellert staged a duel to let people believe they were no longer working together. What they hadn't counted on were the other Dumbledore children, Aberforth and Ariana trying to aid their brother. The staged duel took a turn for the worst and when the dust settled, Ariana lay dead on the floor. Aberforth was destroyed by the death of his sister while Albus was secretly relieved, one less nuisance for him to deal with. After the duel, Gellert and Albus went their separate ways.

As time passed, it became clear that Albus's methos was going nowhere, being from only a minor pureblood house, nearly all of the Ancient and Noble houses looked down on him, and no matter how clever and powerful he was, he was still looked down on. Gellert on the other hand, had begun a revolution and had nearly taken over all of Europe and still advancing.

Staring defeat in the face, Albus turned on his secret partner, leading a force from Britain straight to Gellert's secret base, which he had secretly been made secret keeper of. That night, a fully prepared Albus Dumbledore and Charlus Potter fought a suddenly woken Gellert Grindelwald who was still in his night clothes.

After Albus slyly removed Charlus from the equation, Gellert lowered his wand to speak with Albus, thinking it was another staged battle, but Albus acted quickly, disabling Grindelwald and stealing his wand, which Albus knew to be the Elder Wand.

Albus didn't kill his old friend, but locked him up in his own prison, hidden from the world. Now famous for defeating a supposedly unbeatable wizard, Albus was praised as a hero, the people, even the purebloods who had once snubbed him, basically handed him control of the country, but that wasn't the true goal of Albus Dumbledore, he wanted access to the next generation, Hogwarts itself.

He first took the position of transfiguration teacher, and started his slow takeover of the future. It was while he was a teacher that he met a boy who intrigued him, a young boy named Tom Riddle.

Riddle was a muggle raised halfblood, but the reintroduction of fresh blood into his line, the Ancient and Noble line of Slytherin, he was powerful, even at 11, he was as powerful as the average adult wizard, and when he was fully grown, he would be more powerful than Grindelwald had been.

So Dumbledore watched him in his first year, he watched him go into Slytherin House, watched him befriend nearly everyone, but what Albus picked up on most of all was the boy's complete and utter devotion to magic itself. Albus knew that love for magic would one day turn him down a dark road, and so Albus knew who the next 'dark lord' he would defeat for fame would be, even if he had to force the situation.

So Dumbledore waited, subtly using legilimency to manipulate Tom Riddle along a darker and darker path. Turning his love of magic into a hatred of all things muggle. Dumbledore never once questioned his own actions, because as he had been told from a young age, and even more frequently as his accomplishments, both real and stolen, were presented to the world. His actions were the best, for he knew best, and therefore everyone who disagreed with him, the undying light, was dark and more importantly, wrong.

By the time Tom had graduated and Albus had taken the seats of Supreme Mugwump, Chief of the Wizengamot, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, Riddle was firmly entrenched in a dark path that Albus had set him on.

But that was where things started to go wrong. Dumbledore hadn't thought Riddle would grow as powerful as he did, powerful enough to overcome the mental blocks Dumbledore had placed on him at a young age, and when the two dueled, Dumbledore barely escaped with his life. The fact that Riddle was in the same state meant nothing to Dumbledore, he had miscalculated and the situation was now out of his control.

But those thoughts were put out of his mind, he had the next generation to focus on, and it was here he found his answer. He took the ramblings of a young foolish seer and passed them off to a biter young man, one deeply in the servitude of Riddle over a schoolyard grudge over a girl.

And Tom took the bait, hook line and sinker, Albus would have him trapped and alone after he killed his target, and hopefully they put up enough of a fight beforehand that Tom was thoroughly exhausted, enough for Albus to land the decisive blow on him, thus, once again, bolstering his fame.

But that night something happened that Dumbledore never accounted for, Tom's defeat at the hands of a babe, one Harrison James Potter. But Dumbledore was nothing if not adaptive. Instead of focusing on himself, Dumbledore had found a child with the potential to become his successor.

So he played up the legend, let the Daily Prophet raise the boy's reputation to ridiculous heights. But Dumbledore miscalculated. For attached to the boy's scar was a piece of Tom's soul, meaning Tom was still alive. Dumbledore saw two paths ahead of young Harry.

Harry could find a way to remove the soul piece, as well as other soul pieces Tom might have hidden, and he could offer himself up as a martyr so Tom could be defeated by Dumbledore after. Those were the options Dumbledore could live with, but there were many others that would turn Harry down a dark path, one that would make him fear death as Riddle did.

So Albus Dumbledore made the decision to leave young Harry Potter with his Aunt Petunia and her family. Albus knew the next 10 years would be extremely trying on the boy, he would know pain and hardship, he would most likely not come though the situation unscarred. But he would know humility, he would know suffering, and by knowing these feelings, he would have the mental fortitude to take up the role Albus would leave behind in his passing, and he would make the ultimate sacrifice to end a terrible evil and Albus would begin anew for his successor.

But that never happened. Harry vanished from Privet drive, gone without a trace. Albus pushed all his other plans to the side, focusing solely on finding his missing project. It was only when Albus went to extremes that Harry was brought back into the light.

Dumbledore was wary of the Harry that had come to his castle, and his so called 'guildmates'. It was clear each was powerful in their own right.

Laxus was a powerhouse, and while he was the chosen judge for their guild, it was clear he wasn't the leader, he lacked charisma and tended to look down on others.

Albus personally suspected that combined, they had more magical power between the six of them than the rest of magical Britain combined, minus himself and Tom of course.

Lisanna was timid, but friendly, never one to start a fight and only ended them if her boyfriend was involved. She was the type to give second chances, something Dumbledore held in high regard.

Natsu was her opposite. He was like the fire he wielded, temperamental and set off at the slightest aggravation. He was a loose cannon, one useful for pointing at the enemy and letting it free.

Ultear and Meredy were mysteries to Dumbledore, they held cold composed pureblood esque masks about them at all times. Ultear's mask had never fallen that Dumbledore had seen, but he could see in her eyes that she had deep scars, she had done something she regretted deeply and was now trying to fix, much like Severus. Meredy's only ever broke around Harry, showing a fun loving prankster who had seen the truth of the world. It made Albus glad to see Harry could bring the fun, happy side out of the girl, it was one of the only redeeming qualities he saw in the boy.

Harry was almost the spitting image of Tom Riddle and himself at 14. He could be your friend one second, giving you every reason to trust him, but behind his eyes, Albus believed something darker lie. Fawkes had warned him something from the great beyond had touched Harry, something that made him dark.

But today Dumbledore had made a mistake, a small slip in his usually ironclad mind and a young girl was put in deadly peril. And it was Harry Potter, a boy he had thought had been corrupted who saved her from the jaws of death. Harry Potter proved he had what it took to be a hero, and if need be, a martyr.

He had tried to plant the idea in Harry's head, but his legilimency was met by a field of blackness, not an emptiness, just a void. His companions all had similar defenses, things ranging from dragons to what appeared to be the nervous system structure of the brain.

And know as Albus pondered in his office, after receiving a thorough telling off from just about everyone who was anyone, he wondered if he had indeed slipped from the path he had set down all those years ago.

Dumbledore knew he was old, he was old and tired. A war of his own making forced him to stay in power, which was the goal at the time, but Albus knew his time as a leader was drawing to a close. When Tom finally passed on to the next great adventure, so would Albus Dumbledore, but for that to happen, ALL of Tom's horcruxes had to be destroyed, no matter who would protest to it. It was for the Greater Good.

 **Tada, early wakeups and coffee provide you with one hell of a long chapter, ready for reading. Not much really happens between the second and third tasks, so the storyline is a bit invented, with the vision, not really the same as the cannon one, and Mr. Crouch at the beginning of the next one, I plan to finish the graveyard scene next chapter, so look forward to that.**

 **Again, big thanks to jgkitarel for pointing out my lack of villain background and thought, neglecting the bad guy can make a boring story. Favs follows, and of course reviews are welcomed.**

 **Happy reading -Centurion Africanus**


	18. Chapter 18

**I don't own FT or HP**

The morning of the third task was a hectic one for the Earthland Wizards. After today, they would be officially allowed home, of course, none of the books in the library gave them any clue as to how and when they asked Dumbledore to see the goblet of fire, he simply twinkled his eyes and turned them away. Natsu personally was of the opinion that the sooner they were away from Dumbledore, the better.

As the group, minus Laxus of course, was seated at the Ravenclaw table with Hermione and Luna when Professor McGonagall approached Harry.

"As today is the day of the final task, families have been permitted to visit with the champions, if you would follow me Mr. Potter." McGonagall said, gesturing to a room off to the side of the Great Hall.

"But why would I need to go anywhere, my family is here with me." He shot back, and with that, the entire group, plus Luna, Hermione, and even Neville from the Gryffindor table, all got up and followed Harry as he left the hall. Mcgonagall only sighed, she knew that was the response she would get. Albus should have figured out by now that he should be working WITH the boy instead of working AGAINST him. Harry and all five of his companions were all clearly incredibly powerful, if the way they would consistently go into the Forbidden Forest and come back looking like they had gone a few rounds with Alastor was any indication.

Minerva shook those thoughts out of her head, Albus Dumbledore had been making the wizarding world safer for decades, and if this was how he deemed it acceptable to handle the situation, then he must have a reason.

For the rest of the day, the group that had left at breakfast avoided the castle, instead taking advantage of the end of exams and excellent weather.

"Ok, I give up, I need to know, what magic to you all use, I've pinned down Natsu for fire and Laxus for electricity, and maybe some kind of multi element for Harry, but I have no idea for you three!" Hermione shouted as everyone was relaxing by the edge of the now squidless lake.

"That's because us girls have much better self control than the guys, especially this one." Lisanna joked, poking Natsu in the forehead.

"Hey, not using magic is like not breathing, its how I was raised." Natsu complained.

"So you were raised in a magical household?" Hermione asked, a roll of parchment out with a quill, looking she was at a class instead of having a friendly conversation.

"Nah, I was raised in a forest by my dad, Igneel, he's a fire dragon." Natsu said, a smile on his face.

"A dragon, you were raised by a dragon." Hermione's jaw had officially dropped, she had even dropped her quill.

"Yup, although dragons here are stupid by comparison, they can't even talk or teach people magic, and they're a hell of a lot weaker, I mean, Harry managed to beat one rather easily using my magic." Natsu explained, acting serious for Hermione's sake, and to paint a positive picture of dragon's for her. "Igneel taught me his magic, Fire Dragon slayer magic, some of the most powerful fire magic there is, it also lets me eat fire." Natsu explained. At this point Hermione had given up on her notes and had taken to acting like a fish.

"What did you mean when you said Harry used your magic?" Neville asked, this time Meredy fielded the question.

"That would be my magic, Maguilty Sense, it allows me to link physical and magical senses between people, even open telepathic connections, I simply linked Natsu's magic to Harry and he used Natsu's magic and power in his fight with the Horntail." Meredy explained and showed the three Hogwarts students her monitoring link that all of the Earthland wizards had, a safety precaution both Harry and Natsu had insisted on. "I won't get much further into details, a girl's gotta have a few secrets after all." Meredy said with a smirk, drawing a pout from Hermione.

"I think I'll keep my magic a secret for now, it can be a little overwhelming for those just learning about it." Ultear said with a smirk.

"I was Laxus's apprentice, the lightning magic I use is what he taught me, although I have picked a few other tricks as well." Harry said, maintaining the lie he used back in Earthland. Death magic was a hated magic, no matter what world he was in.

"I use transformation magic, but it's limited, my brother and sister are both more powerful." Lisanna added in, slipping into the conversation.

"So in maze, should we just expect you to zip over it in whatever lightning form you've been using?" Hermione asked and Harry gave a wicked grin.

"Of course, this whole tournament has been completely stupid, only the first task has been anywhere close to watchable, but just throwing us into the unknown is going to get people killed and the second task was so many levels of stupid it isn't even funny." Harry said offhandedly

"Like I've been telling you all year, wizards here are the most backwards and illogical people you will meet anywhere." Hermione said, getting nods from the entire group.

"Thank god we'll be out of here after today then." Natsu, letting his relief show. Harry cringed slightly, while they may be out of the school after today, they still didn't have a way home, and a certain old man was stonewalling them every chance he could get.

"Well maybe not immediately, but we will be out of the school." Ultear spoke the thought on all the Earthland mages minds, none of them had the slightest clue how to get home.

"So you guys have no idea how to get home, do you?" Luna added, missing the usual whimsy from her speech.

"That about sums it up, I'm pretty sure old wrinkly is trying to keep us here." Meredy said,

"Not all, just one. The blibbering humdingers don't like to share, and nargles are often seen around people in important positions." Luna insisted, her eyes focusing on Harry.

"If you guys need a place to stay while you try and find a way home, you could stay with me and my Gran, although, I'm not sure she'd appreciate me bring home six houseguests." Neville said, his slightly pudgy face fell quickly after he spoke though. "That is, if you want to though." his eyes falling to his feet.

"I'm sure they would love to Neville, and if they don't mind being separated, a few could stay with me and daddy, we'll be gone for most of the summer hunting Snorkacks in Sweden, so as long as they don't destroy it, they could stay there." Luna said, picking a flower off the shore and weaving it into Hermione's hair, earning a squeak of surprise from the bookworm.

"Luna's right Neville, we'd be honored to stay with a true friend, and if it can be only a few of us, we could split up." Harry said, although it was clear he was uncomfortable with the last part.

"You mean it Harry?" Neville asked

"Of course, we're Fairy Tail!" Natsu answered enthusiastically, which the whole group grinned at.

"Well said Natsu, and on that note, I think we should go inside, the weather is turning and it's almost time for dinner, which means almost time for the last trial." Ultear said, rising from her seated position on the shore line. True to her word, it seemed like a storm front was rolling in over Hogwarts. Thunder boomed ominously, and while it seemed like a normal storm, Harry could feel the magic in the air, lightning magic.

The group of eight made their way back into the great hall where they ate quickly before making their way to the Quidditch field where the hedge labyrinth was waiting. The group split at the entrance, Meredy and Harry heading down to the starting line and the rest of the group took their place in the stands.

"Just get this over fast, then we can go home, and if it comes down to it, fight with everything you have, and if you die so help me I will find your ghost and see if my magic works on the dead." Meredy warned Harry before pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"No matter what happens, I'll come back, I won't let us be separated again." Harry said, prying Meredy off him slightly so the two could share a searing kiss.

Once the two separated Meredy slowly walked up into the stands to sit with the rest of the Earthland group and Harry made his way to the entrance of the maze where Bagman, Moody, and the other champions were waiting.

"This is it, the final task." Bagman said in his usual happy voice. "Before us stands the maze, somewhere inside it lies the Triwizard cup, the first person to grab the cup will be transported back to the judges platform and be declared the winner."

"At the cannon, Harry will enter, followed by Mr. Krum, Mr. Diggory and finally Miss Delacour."

With the last of the instructions given, Harry lined himself up at one of the four entrances of the maze, preparing himself.

BOOM!

And he shot off, turning into lightning and shooting up and over the maze as a bolt of lightning, going towards the middle.

It only took a few minutes until Harry reached the center, and the glowing blue cup that stood on a platform. Landing carefully Harry walked up to the cup and grabbed the handle. What he wasn't expecting was the violent twisting sensation of extremely fast travel, combined the magical overload assaulting his senses, Harry landed with a thump, only catching a glimpse of a barren graveyard until a red light hit him in the chest, knocking him backwards, his head smacking into a tombstone with a violent crack and Harry's world went black.

 **Back at Hogwarts**

Meredy was worried about Harry, sure with his lightning he should be able to get through the maze quickly, but who knows what obstructions were placed in his way. This task was different than the others, only pure skill and power, not preparation would get one through the maze.

"Meredy, we need to go." Ultear whispered to her. Meredy gave a sigh and quietly rose from the stands, staying only long enough to see Harry zip over the maze in a flash of green lightning.

The two ex-Grimoire Heart mages snuck their way back into Hogwarts and into the belly of the beast, Dumbledore's office. Ultear had come up with the idea to use the third task as a diversion, giving them a chance to find the Goblet of Fire so they could find a way home.

The two made their way to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office where Ultear used her arc of time to crumble the statue to nothingness. The two went up the staircase, completely unaware that someone had noticed their departure and had followed, someone who was unhappy they were breaking into his office.

The first thing Meredy and Ultear noticed when they got into Dumbledore's office was the large majestic red bird that stood proudly on a perch, watching them carefully.

The second was the many many spinning gold and silver trinkets that were scattered around the room, each at their own pace.

"Moment of stillness!" Ultear called and with a wave of her hand, all the portraits froze and would remain that way until Ultear released the spell.

"Spread out and search quickly, the goblet is fairly large so there aren't many places to hide, probably a secret room here somewhere." Ultear instructed Meredy, who nodded quickly and the two began their search.

"Shit!" Meredy yelled as she felt her wrist send off a warning, Harry's tracking bracelet had let off a warning, meaning he had suddenly moved a great distance, the normally grey band turning red signified his being injured.

"We need to get to Harry, something happened, he's not in the school anymore." Meredy told Ultear quickly, making her way to the stair well, followed by a grumbling Ultear.

"I think not, I believe the breaking into of my office needs to be addressed first." Dumbledore said as he made his way up the staircase, an expression of anger splayed across his elderly face, wand out and pointed at Meredy. The red bird gave a squawk and landed on his master's shoulder facing the two intruders.

"Let us through old man, Harry is in trouble and we need to go help him." Meredy growled, her aura flaring around her, a rainbow of colors matching her many uses of her magic.

"Destiny is as destiny wills, everything that happens tonight is for the greater good, and I will not allow you to interfere." Dumbledore said and flicked his wand, a pair of red lights flashing from the tip.

Both Meredy and Ultear dodged easily and the chase was on. Dumbledore stood firmly at the door, casting spells and transforming various trinkets from his office into metal animals to pursue the two, his bird, which Meredy now recognized as a Phoenix, also came at them, spitting fire and slashing with its talons.

Meredy knew her Maguilty magic would be useless on constructs, so she focused her sodoms on the bird and the old man while Ultear used her arc of time to rot away the golems as they came, but metal had a long lifespan and Meredy could tell Ultear was tiring quickly.

"Maguilty Control Link!" Meredy fired off her newest spell at the phoenix while it was mid dive bomb, assuring her spell wouldn't miss, but also earning herself long slash marks on her forearms.

"Ultear, can you handle things here?" Meredy asked, keeping the phoenix on its normal pattern as to not let the old man catch onto her plan.

"Go, I can handle things here, get Harry, we should have known something would happen tonight." Ultear called back and took up a stance Meredy had only seen in lacrima, a maker stance.

Meredy gave a nod and mentally made the phoenix swoop down to her and it flamed her away.

"Well then old man, shall we dance?" Ultear asked the shocked Dumbledore, who took a solid stance against her

"Ice Make ROSE KRONE!" Ultear called, letting a crushing mass of spiked roses shoot at the old man, who countered with a powerful fire spell followed by another round of spells.

"Ice make DAHLIAS!" Not only did the shield stop the spells, but was large enough to cut the entire office in two, separating the two combatants and allowing them to catch their breath.

"I had a feeling you would be looking for the goblet, I moved it to a secure location back at the beginning of the year, Harry must remain here, his life is here." Dumbledore insisted, his eyes carefully following the silhouette of his opponent through the flowery ice shield.

"His life is what he makes of it, looking to control him won't end well, for anyone, it never does." Ultear warned, carefully pacing behind her shield.

"Controlled or of his own free will, Harry has a destiny here, fate has decreed his path years ago and I will not his childish arrogance to defy fact." Dumbledore answered

"But what makes it fact, what determines destiny, every person is born with their own free will, and when they try and push their will onto others, all that happens is they lose control of themselves. For years I thought I was the puppet master, the mistress behind the scenes, only to realize I had become a piece in an ancient game of chess. I wasn't a pawn, but then, a pawn can become a queen if the right conditions are met." Ultear said, letting the shield weaken on one side.

"I serve the greater good, a champion of equality, the strongest light lord in centuries." Dumbledore said, noticing the weakening of one side of the shield and raised his wand in preparation.

"Then you are truly lost, you are a slave to your own ideal, or maybe it is the ideal of another. You are stuck in a repeating loop, with no answer in sight, for there is no real answer, simply a better question. Do fairies really have tails? Do they even exist...like them this place is an eternal mystery, and endless adventure." With her piece said, Ultear shattered the weakened side of the shield, sending a barrage of crystal balls covered in ice at Dumbledore while slipping through the other side, melting a passage close to the walls. Dumbledore was quick to reack, shattering the orbs with a quick chain of spells, then turning towards Ultear, making a crucial mistake.

"Flash Forward!" Ultear called and the orbs, whose shattered pieces had been at Dumbledore's feet rose and reformed, slamming rapidly into the oldman, shattering a few of his fragile bones. Dumbledore fell to the ground, moaning in agony.

"Sorry about that Albus, I usually prefer less violent methods, but in this situation, you simply ran out of time." Ultear said with a small grin at her joke and smashed her fist into Dumbledore's face.

"Damn that felt good, no wonder Fairy Tail would fight so often." Ultear said shaking her hand gently. As she made to leave, Ultear felt a light tug on her magic, coming from the geezer's wand. Ultear picked it up carefully and studied it carefully. It was one of the most powerful artifacts she had ever seen, and it was full to the brim with death magic. Not only that, but it had a familiar magic signature, one so dark that there was no doubting this wand's origin. Zeref had made the wand, or at least held it for a period of time.

Ultear carefully pocketed the wand and made her way down to the stadium, who knows what kind of mess there would be to clean up down at the stadium, potentially large fires, with Natsu around, that was always a possibility.

 **Back at the graveyard**

Harry gave a groan and woke slowly, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of night and the burning fire light, his arm as he felt a cut had been opened and the sound of thunder rolled overhead.

"Harry Potter, I do apologize for knocking you out like that, but I simply could not risk you spoiling my rebirth, all I had was one of the weakest of my servants, but now I stand before you in my full glory." Harry sent his swimming gaze at the snake like man who spoke to him.

He was tall and spindly, clothed in a pure black flowing robe, accomplishing a lordly appearance and leaving him free to move. He was completely bald, his skin a sickly pale green in the fire light. His eyes were what bothered Harry the most, they were a mad red, like Zancrow's had been.

"Tom Riddle I presume?" Harry asked carefully, taking in his surroundings carefully. His bindings that held him in a standing position just above the ground to a tall headstone weren't simple rope, but pure silvery magic. Scattered around the graveyard were metal poles driven into the ground. Lightning rods.

"Do you like the care I put into setting the scene. Fire and lightning are two very powerful forces to have at your command, but they can be overcome, just like anyone else who stands in my path." Voldemort crooned, Harry frowned slightly, there was clearly an agent within Hogwarts, or newspapers talking too much, but Voldemort clearly wasn't playing around. Not that it bothered Harry too much, if Voldemort was as good as their research indicated, then it would be detrimental to not use his true magic from the get go.

"It won't be enough, but it's the thought that counts." Harry responded cheekily, Voldemort just gave a soft chuckle. "We shall see, but first, we have a stage, we have the performers, now I must bring in our audience. Wormtail, give me your arm!" the short rat faced man Harry just noticed limped slightly up to the imposing figure of Voldemort, holding a bleeding stump out to his master.

"Your other arm.." Voldemort growled and Wormtail shuddered in fear and held his whole arm out to his master, who grabbed it roughly and tore the sleeve upwards, revealing a dark tattoo on his inner forearm.

"It has returned. I wonder how many have noticed, how many will embrace the call once again, and how many will turn their traitorous backs and run in fear. I already know of course, but surprises are a part of life." and with that Voldemort placed his bone white wand onto the tattoo and Harry felt a pulse of dark magic ripple through the air. A call, sent to only those who knew to listen.

In a matter of moments a little over twenty dark robed figures with skull white masks appeared among the graves, and at the sight of Voldemort, they all fell into a kneeling stance in an imperfect circle, several forming a tight inner circle with only a few gaps in their formation, while the others fell in line loosely behind them, all bowing their heads at their master.

"Welcome back my friends. It has been 14 long hard years, but I have returned and you come as called in an instant, faithful as ever, but are you really?" Voldemort fell silent as his snake like eyes swept over the crowd.

"You who stand before me now are those who only truly care for themselves, Lucius, Nott, Tavers, Mulciber. My truest servants still lie in wait in Azkaban. The Lestranges, Dolohov, Rookwood, the Carrows. Then we have our final missing member, who to this day remains our greatest asset, or our greatest target." Voldemort spoke softly as he paced gently in front of the kneeling death eaters, making no noise as his feet crossed the dry grass, thunder still booming ominously overhead.

"I am greatly ashamed that none of you were the cause of my return, and while I won't punish you, none will receive a reward. Wormtail, after 12 years of exile finally came to me, he was running in cowardice, but he still came, and he payed for his past failure, but in return for his aid, I shall reward him." Harry had to admit Voldemort had a silver tongue. Each and every word matched his actions and facial expressions to a key, all targeting the same effect in his audience, fear and loyalty.

With a flick of his wand, Voldemort conjured a dull silver metal, it swirled around the stump that was once Wormtail's right hand until it settled and formed a perfect replica of his hand, made from shining silver.

"Thank you master, for this gift to your loyal servant." The stubby man praised him and fell into line behind the main line of Death Eaters in the same kneeling stance.

"Rise my inner circle, my loyal followers. For as I'm sure you've noticed, we have a guest. Harry James Potter, the boy-who-lived." Voldemort's tone was mocking Harry, but he stood firm, determined to not allow the dark lord to get into his head.

"My supposed downfall at the hands of sheer chance were a hinderance to my plans, I had arranged the chessboard exactly to my liking, and had one last loose end to tie up, but then you came, and luck spared you, and for 13 long years I pondered my mistake, what was it that made you different, made you special." Voldemort paused here, turning his back to his followers to look Harry closely in the eyes.

"My answer was simple, it was the same reason I went after you in the first place. There was a prophecy made, one that told of an epic struggle between myself and a rival. When I discerned that you were to be that rival, I set out and hunted your family. Your maternal grandparents were the first to die at my hand. I tortured them personally for almost an hour and yet they never broke, it was truly most impressive for simple muggles." Voldemort continued his speech, but he had Harry's full attention now, the only blood relatives he had ever known were the Dursleys, and he wished that Voldemort had killed them.

"Next came your father's parents. Your grandmother was sickly, had contracted Dragon pox in her old age, she passed of natural causes the night before I struck, it was for the better, she was an honorable witch of noble blood line, Dorea Potter nee Black remained neutral in a time of conflict, a feat worthy of respect with whom she married. Charlus Potter was powerful, but not terribly bright, and a full believer in the every word of the fool Dumbledore. It took less than ten minutes to get the knowledge that your parents were hiding under the Fidelius charm from him. After he had served his use, I had his head removed and sent to Hogwarts, a breakfast surprise I'm sure Dumbledore loved." Harry was quickly growing angry, he knew what the Fidelius was, which meant that whoever his parents most trusted friend was had either sold them out, or been tortured to death.

"Next was the last of your mother's side of the family, Petunia Dursley and her husband. Making muggles the secret keeper seemed like the kind of ploy Dumbledore would go for, but alas, it wasn't so. They were killed quickly when it became obvious that they were estranged from your mother." Harry was growing even angrier now, and not at Voldemort this time, Dumbledore had placed him with his 'relatives'.

"Finally I had come to the conclusion that your parents had gone with the obvious choice, Sirius Black, Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, with the knowledge, power, and ingenuity to duel the best of my servants, and one of the most protected men, politically and magically in the whole country, I was close to giving up, but then I was approached by another. Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail, came to me of his own free will, giving me both his loyalty and the knowledge I so desperately desired, in exchange for power. He was the secret keeper, a man so lowly even I had overlooked him, and with Peter's loyalty and knowledge, I made my way to your house that Halloween evening." Harry was seething now, he had seen multiple records on Sirius Black, how he was proclaimed the betrayer of his parents and the most wanted criminal in all of England, but the true perpetrator was sitting in front of him now with a twisted smile on his fat face.

"I killed your father first. He was almost a perfect copy of his own father, power in spades but no will, not drive to accomplish anything, a simple yes man to Dumbledore. I killed him with ease and stepped over his body, he was pathetic to his last breathe. Your mother was a different story. While it is believed she was a muggle born, she was actually from a long line of squibs on both sides of her family. She was incredibly powerful and the most intelligent person to come out of Hogwarts since myself. I'm ashamed to say she had gotten the jump on me before, so imagine my surprise when I found her kneeling in front of your crib, tears streaming down her face, begging me to kill her, to take her life and allow you to live. To see such a powerful and worthy foe lower themself to me in such a way, it was an indescribable feeling, to watch your mother beg like the common bitch she was. But I should have known better. Lily Evans had one last trick up her sleeve as I killed her." Harry was beyond enraged at this point, he had always dreamed of having a mother, one who loved and cared for him as he had seen 'Petunia' do for Dudley, to hear this now made him absolutely enraged, his aura, normally finely controlled was emitting wildly, the raw magic eating away at his bindings slowly.

"I cast the curse on her then turned my wand on you Harry, the one who was to be my downfall. I pondered briefly sparing you to raise you as my successor, but fate works in funny ways. I instead turning my wand on you and fired the spell, and all I felt after that was burning agony and nothingness. I know not what the mudblood did that night, maybe it was runes or wards, artifacts or maybe the old geezer's love, but what happened was not your doing, but your bitch of a mother. And in the end she failed, I stand here, as strong as I was 13 years ago and she lays in the dirt where she belongs. I have gone beyond the magic of simple mortals and ascended beyond simple things like death. And now Harry Potter, I shall send you to her, but I shall do it properly. Fate has chosen us to be rivals so we shall duel, come Potter, embrace death." and with a flick of his wand Voldemort spun away from the tomb Harry was tied to and the Death Eaters all backed away as a seething Harry was released from his mostly decayed bonds.

"You have clearly prepared for tonight Tom, you prepared for what you've seen. You no doubt known many spells to counter fire and have counter measures in place for my lightning, you've stacked the deck in your favor, but I've got one thing you didn't account for, I've got my own ace hidden up my sleeve, you want me to embrace death, I did that years ago, I think it's time for you to do the same!" And with a savage roar Harry's aura shot outwards, pressing down on all the death eaters and Voldemort, knocking the breath from their lungs.

" **DEATH GOD'S BELLOW!** " Harry led with a vicious breathe attack the Voldemort avoided by gracefully spinning away from, sending a volley of streaming red and black curses silently from his wand.

Harry leapt to his left, ducking and rolling behind a row of tombstones. "Death God's Stakes!" Harry let off a scatter shot of magic, and while none of them hit Voldemort, who conjured a shield with a flick of his wand, most of the Death Eaters however, were caught in the spray.

"Well well little Harry, it seems you do have a few tricks up your sleeve, but you are still a child." Voldemort taunted, sending another spray of dark and lethal curses at Harry.

"Death God's BELLOW!" Harry let loose another breathe attack to crush the spells before they reached him, forcing Voldemort to jump to the side to avoid being hit. Three of the Death Eaters weren't so lucky, they took the blast head on and fell to the ground, unmoving. Harry didn't care if they were dead and merely drained to the brink, his vision was swimming in red, hatred for the snake man who took his family from him, ripped it away before he had a chance to fully appreciate them.

"Crucio." Voldemort intoned coolly from Harry's left, his spell traveling faster than Harry could react, striking him in his side. Harry's world filled with pain and he struggled to remain standing and keep from standing.

Voldemort gave a vicious smirk and increased his power in the curse, making Harry give a low groan and fall to one knee.

"See how truly pathetic you are in the face of death Harry. How you kneel before me as your mother once did, as countless others have. You may be my rival, but you are still nothing, just a little boy, playing with magic's you don't truly understand. And now, I shall free you from your burden." Voldemort cut the cruciatus curse and leveled his wand at Harry's head.

Harry was still in aftershock from the curse, it hurt almost 5 times as much as Meredy's magic ever did. His every nerve was screaming in protest, begging for release from pain. He raised his head to Voldemort and let out a low growl, spitting at him.

"Disrespectful to the very end, what a truly impudent child. Avada Kedavra!"

Harry narrowed his eyes as the world slowed down, the sickly green curse sailing at him. Harry could feel the magic in the air screaming in protest to the curses existence, the unholy sense of wrongness to the spell.

Harry took a deep breathe a bit down on the curse, the bolt of magic freezing in his jaws.

Harry casually sucked the spell down his throat, feeling the spell replenish his magic, sending relief to his screaming nerves.

"Well that was disgusting, like a slug. You couldn't have made it taste better." Harry complained in a mocking to Voldemort, who had frozen in place, the Death Eaters behind him gaping in shock behind their masks.

"It would seem that you surviving my curse may have been more than coincidence. But no matter, there are plenty of other more painful ways to kill you." Voldemort recovered from his shock quickly and raised his wand again. Harry quickly shot to his feet and leapt away from him, going as fast as he could without tempering his speed with his lightning.

Harry weaved his way through a barrage of spells, from both Voldemort and his Death Eaters, until he found himself surrounded.

"End of the line now Potter." one of the Death Eaters hissed, his voice very similar to Draco, his father if Harry had to guess.

"There is no end, just a new beginning." Harry smirked, they had fallen for his trap perfectly, as his opponents raised their wands, Harry let loose a rapid series of spells.

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

"Death God's PULSE!"

The rapid pulses knocked everyone away from him, sending them tumbling head over heels. Some crashed into tombstones with sickening cracks while others went limp on the ground.

At the end of pulses, only Voldemort rose to his feet shakily, his face had grown gaunt and he was clearly exhausted, but he wasn't the only one, Harry was panting deeply and had fallen to one knee again, pulses were one of his most taxing spells and releasing 8 of them in rapid succession drained him immensely, Harry guessed he had enough power for a few weak spells before he was out of magic, unless Voldemort goofed and gave him a boost again. How he was even standing was beyond Harry.

"Very impressive Potter, most of my servants lie dead or dieing and I feel more exhausted than a fight with Dumbledore ever left me. I've learned my lesson now, a simple cutting curse to bleed you dry will do. Good bye Potter." as Voldemort went to release his curse a roar of fire sprung up in front of Harry.

When it cleared a slightly disheveled Meredy and a phoenix came into view.

"Harry!" Meredy called and Harry used the last of his strength to throw himself from his kneeling position and into Meredy just as Voldemort recovered from his shock and sent his curse. Seeing this Harry spun himself and Meredy around so his back was facing the spell just as Meredy gave the mental command to the Phoenix to take them back to Hogwarts.

Voldemort watched his curse sailed through the air, nearing the vanishing duo.

And he watched as it collided with the emerging fire and vanish with them.

 **Wow, that was long, both the chapter and the time it took to write it. I had so many ways I could have the chapter go, and how I was going to write Voldemort, who isn't going to be like in canon, he's more intelligent and cunning, more Slytherin and less bully.**

 **How Harry reacts is another point I wanted to hit, character development and all that. Both he and Meredy are reaching the full emotional spectrum again, less robot, more emotion, which is key to slayer magic hint hint.**

 **To address several reviews who said allowing Natsu to fight Azuma instead of Erza was stupid, I have nothing against Erza, she's easily the most badass female character in the series, but with how Azuma was hurting Lisanna, this version of Natsu wasn't going to let that go. I also wanted to showcase more Natsu since he was going with Harry to Hogwarts.**

 **Next chapter will be slower and some major transition points, but it should be good nonetheless. Almost to 700 favs which is awesome, keep it coming, you all rock.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	19. Chapter 19

**I own nothing**

 **First things first, I want to address the guest who told me to die in my plot holes, thank you for that comment, it means absolutely nothing to me, I am curious as to where you think the plot holes are so I can address them in future chapters, if I don't plan to already.**

 **On another note, Kagehime1998, your review made my day. Knowing that while there are people like the above mentioned guest, there are also people like you who actively stand up to internet bullies. You are without a doubt one of the best people on the internet I have seen. PM me some time, It's always worth getting to know people like you.**

 **Without further ado, chapter 19.**

 **Meredy POV**

Meredy held Harry tightly as they landed back on the main field in front of the maze. Meredy quickly dispelled her magic from the Phoenix, which gave her a long glare before flaming away, presumably back to his old master.

"What happened." Laxus was the first one at their side, quickly followed by the other judges minus Dumbledore, who Meredy presumed was recovering from the beating Ultear undoubtedly gave him.

"Felt his marker go off, once I got to him, he was in a freaky graveyard with some white skinned freak trying to kill him, both looked like they had gone through hell, but I got Harry out of there." Meredy told him, glancing back down at Harry. Meredy froze when she saw him though, his back was shredded, blood pouring from various cuts.

"Shit, he got hit by the last spell, he needs medical attention now." Meredy panicked and Laxus nodded, "I'll take him there now." Laxus said and carefully lifted Harry up, careful not to aggravate his fresh wounds.

"Where is the Triwizard cup, who won?" Madame Maxine asked, followed by the other three champions, who had never entered the maze.

"Doesn't matter right now, Harry's hurt and that takes priority." And with that Laxus vanished in a flash of lightning. Meredy nodded to Lisanna and Natsu, who had approached the group. Giving a return nod, Lisanna grabbed Natsu by the ear and dragged him back to the castle, to watch over Harry while he was out.

"Common girlie, let's go, Bagman, whatever happened Potter won and got hurt while doing it, go do your job and announce it." Mad Eye Moody had approached the group and quickly defused the situation.

"Of course, yes." Bagman agreed and quickly ran off, drawing his wand for the announcement.

"Where are we going?" Meredy asked carefully as Moody led her into the castle, but instead of going towards the hospital, they were heading to his office.

"You saw what happened right, maybe only part of it, but you saw, I need to know what happened." Moody growled as he led her into his office. Meredy frowned, her gut told her something was wrong, she sent a quick signal to Laxus and Ultear, letting her marker tell them where she was, and that she needed backup.

"I only caught a glimpse, but from what I saw, there was a tall pale snake like man, he and Harry looked like they had a serious fight, scattered around were twenty or thirty bodies, I couldn't tell if they were alive and not." Meredy answered, keeping one eye on Moody, who was moving around his office quickly, looking through bottles for something.

"Dead then, all the followers, was it the Dark Lord who punished them, did he teach those unfaithful bastards a lesson." Moody asked Meredy, leaning and meeting her cold gaze. Meredy could see a fanatic light shining in his one human eye, it was the look of someone completely insane, it was a look Meredy recognized from Zancrow.

"I never mentioned Voldemort." Meredy said slyly, taking a small step back, recovering fighting room between them.

"Description gave it away, and don't say the Dark Lord's name, now tell me." Moody hissed, his insane look growing.

"Based on what I could tell, it could very well have been Harry fighting them all, but it could have been _Voldemort_ , I was only there for a second." Meredy said, placing emphasis on Voldemort's name in an attempt to further anger the man.

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" Moody yelled, letting his anger slip, which Meredy happily took advantage of.

"Maguilty Link, Mind Reader." she whispered under her breath, letting a band of magic energy form around Moody's wrist and Meredy quickly went through his short term memory, and hit a gold mine of information.

"Now!" she called quickly and the door burst open, revealing Laxus and Ultear.

"Ice Make, Rose Prison!" Ultear was first one off the draw, trapping Moody in a bind of thorned roses. Laxus shot forward and decked the fake Moody in the face with a lightning covered punch, knocking him out.

"He the one who rigged it?" Laxus asked Meredy, who was quickly going through the man's memory.

"Yup, he set the whole thing up, Harry's name in the goblet, cup being a portkey, kidnapping the real Moody, he's in the bottom compartment of that trunk by the way, should probably get him to the hospital wing." Meredy said. Laxus nodded and tore the lock off the trunk with his bare hand and lifted the lid to the bottom compartment, revealing an unconscious one legged one eyed man in a pit like room within.

Laxus quickly zipped down and back up carrying him. "To the hospital then, I believe that is where Dumbledore is, he certainly should be there after I broke most of his ribs." Ultear said and used her crystal balls to lift the unconscious ice bound man.

"And we need to see Harry." Meredy added and the three departed.

 **Harry POV**

When Harry woke up, he was face down in a bed, and his back was burning in pain. He could hear Laxus argueing with the hospital matron.

"I told you, there is nothing I can do, he was hit by a dark cutting spell, one that doesn't have a known counter, the best I can do is hold him in a stasis spell until the wounds naturally close, which could take months." the matron argue and Laxus scowled.

Before he could answer though, Harry broke the silence, noticing the pink haired dragon slayer nearby. "Natsu, get over here, you know what to do, seal it up, should burn the magic out too." Harry called to the scowling Natsu.

"You sure Harry It'll burn like hell?" Natsu asked, readying his hand.

"What are you talking about." the matron was cut off by Harry.

"Just do it, at least then I'll be able to get out of this damn bed." Harry growled and braced himself.

"I must protest to whatever you are about to do.." the matron tried to protest, but Natsu ignored her and ignited his hands and started cauterizing Harry's wounds one at a time, tracing the various slash marks.

It took all of Harry's willpower to not cry out in pain, but he clenched his teeth and suffered through it. He felt a soft hand take his own and saw Meredy giving him a weak smile as Natsu finished sealing the wounds.

"Are you insane, that could have killed him!" the matron was furious, but Laxus brushed her aside.

"Natsu may be awful at most things, he knows his way around fire, he did a better job than you could." Laxus dismissed her as Meredy helped Harry roll over and raise himself into a seated position.

"What happened after we got back?" Harry asked, looking at the crowd around his bed. Around him was the Earthland group minus Ultear as well as Hermione, Neville, Luna, and of course the hospital matron.

"We caught the guy who sabotaged the cup and goblet, he sang like a bird after Meredy was done with him. He was the son of that official Crouch who went missing, he was pretending to be Moody with some potion, real Moody's over there." Laxus said, jerking his thumb to another bed where a ragged man lay asleep. "then a government guy came and took the fake away. Said something about a kiss."

Harry absorbed the information carefully, letting his memories of what had happened that night run through his mind. As he remembered, he felt anger flow through him, anger at both Voldemort and Dumbledore.

"Where's Dumbledore, the two of us need to have a talk." Harry growled, slightly surprised the old meddler wasn't here as it was.

"Ultear beat the crap out of him, he's in the hospital right now.": Meredy answered carefully, Harry's anger making her nervous, her statement though surprised the three wizards with her. To them Dumbledore was an unshakable pillar, of knowledge and strength if nothing else.

"You can talk to him later Harry, you need rest man." Natsu said.

"He has some serious things to answer for, where is he?" Harry growled and Natsu sighed.

"Didn't want to do this, but you need rest, sorry Harry." Natsu said as he slugged Harry in the gut. The last thing Harry remembered was Meredy's tear filled eyes looking at him.

It would be another two days until Harry woke up and another three before he was allowed to leave the hospital. When he was though, Dumbledore demanded he meet with him in his office, alone.

While Harry wanted to bring his friends, he wanted to look Dumbledore in the eye when he accused him, Voldemort killed his family, but Dumbledore was the one who condemned him to a childhood of abuse at the hands of those who claimed to be his family, something was fishy here, and it wasn't the squid from the second task.

"Welcome Harry." Dumbledore greeted him cheerfully, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Headmaster, I take it you want to know what happened in the graveyard?" Harry asked, keeping a tight grip on his cold unmoving mask.

"Yes, I am most curious to know what happened." Dumbledore said, and Harry started his story.

When he got to Voldemort's revival, Dumbledore stopped him. "You said he used your blood for his resurrection?" He asked, his eyes twinkling madly in what looked like a sense of victory.

"Yes, he made it quite clear only mine would do for him before he called his Death Eaters." Harry said, taking mental too look into the consequences of blood magic in this world before continuing with his story.

"Then he told me the most interesting thing, he said he killed my aunt and uncle, the ones I grew up with, how interesting don't you think Dumbledore, that simple non magicals rose from the dead to mistreat me while I was under their tender care." Harry said in a dark voice, letting his aura flare, and Dumbledore began to sweat.

"It was a decision I made for the greater good. I found the most normal of muggles I could and altered their minds, removing, adding and changing memories to fit what was needed. I had no idea that my tampering would leave them mentally unstable and they would treat you the way they did. It was that, since no wizard would look for you with supposedly dead muggles, and let one of the darker families try and claim rights to you, they would steal your family money and kill you afterwards. I had to ensure your survival by any means necessary. It was for the greater good." Dumbledore spun his tail as Harry listened carefully, while he didn't trust the old man at all, he felt the honesty behind his words

What he didn't know was Dumbledore was lying through his teeth, he wanted to ensure Harry would be pliable to his path for him, so for the greater good, he made sure Harry would be abused.

Harry finished his story and watched Dumbledore carefully. He could tell the old man was thinking hard.

"What do you plan to do next Harry, while I understand you wish to return to the other world you have been living in, you are needed here in this world." Dumbledore wheedled, watching Harry's facial expression carefully.

"I will be returning to Earthland, but the rest I need to think on, good bye Headmaster, maybe we shall meet again one day." Harry then got up and walked from the room, leaving a fuming Dumbledore behind.

Dumbledore watched the closed door carefully, he needed Harry for his plans, but the boy clearly had no wish to side with him, he didn't even seem to want to fight Voldemort, for revenge if not for the greater good. Dumbledore could not allow Harry to leave to the other world, he was horcrux and would need to be destroyed, and Dumbledore couldn't ensure the fall of Voldemort if Harry left alive.

He needed a way to keep Harry in England, and away from those other mages the best he could. As Dumbledore flipped through the many papers on his desk, he found a Wizengamot proposition he had only skimmed over. It had been introduced by one of the most foul people he had ever had the displeasure of running across, but in this situation, she would suit his needs perfectly.

Dumbledore quickly planned his approach and tucked the parchment into his purple robes, he had a plan now, one that would give him the upper hand, now to spread the word of the returned Dark Lord.

 **Time skip, a few days later, end of term**

Harry sat gingerly at the Ravenclaw table with Hermione, Luna, and the other Earthland wizards minus Laxus, who was still at the head table, looking both grumpy and pleased at the same time.

"Welcome, students and guests, it pains me for such a fantastic year to come to an end, but sadly that is what this is." Dumbledore began his speech with a twinkle in his eyes.

"First, I thank all of you here for making this year a truly pleasurable one, and I hope the bonds forged through competition will last for years to come. As I am sure you are aware at this point, we have the victor to announce, From the Fairy Tail Guild, Harry Potter is the winner of the Triwizard tournament!" Harry raised his arm as applause filled the hall, not as enthusiastic as it could have been, but enough to show Harry had some support among the students.

"Yes, a job well done Mr. Potter, but there is a more serious matter I must address, you were all present at the conclusion of the task, and have seen the ministry taking a Death Eater from the school. I must tell you all the hard truth. Lord Voldemort has risen again." Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing, while he didn't know much about politics, this would paint a huge target on Dumbledore's back, and probably his own.

"Mr. Potter, after winning the tournament, was abducted and bore witness to Voldemort's revival. He fought bravely and escaped with the news, so we may prepare ourselves for the coming storm. Now more than ever we must cherish and strengthen the bonds between us, so that the light may prevail over the darkness. Stay safe, and have a pleasurable summer." Dumbledore finished and dismissed the students, turning his dark speech 180, going back to his cheery self.

The next morning, the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang left, Harry noticed Karkaroff was missing and Krum was leading his fellow students.

Laxus had rejoined the rest of the group, complaining about the arrogance of grown wizards as the six boarded the train to London, each carrying a magically expanded bag with their belongings, much more practical than a trunk.

All six settled in a compartment in the train as it started to move.

After a moment of silence, Ultear spoke up. "So what now, we have no way home and a dark wizard on the loose?"

"You stay with us of course, we did offer." Neville said as he entered, followed by Hermione and Luna, they closed the door behind them and the nine settled into the compartment, only a little squished, a problem Lisanna solved by hopping onto Natsu's lap, surprising at the normally shy girl's actions.

"You sure you guys, we don't want to be a hassle?" Meredy asked from her seat next to Harry.

"We already sent letters home, while neither of us can take all of you with us, my gran said four of you could stay with us and Luna's dad said if you were ok with camping outside, you could stay on their property." Neville said, his smile growing more confident, it was a change that the Earthland group was happy to see. Real friends brought out a strength in the shy boy.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot." Harry said, resting his cheek on Meredy's head.

"Your place is near London right Neville?" Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow at the young who nodded carefully, confidence and not, Laxus set most people on edge.

"Then Harry and I should stay with you, Dumbledore is undoubtedly going to keep an eye on where Harry is so keeping him near a lot of people works for the best, the others can go with Luna." Laxus said and was met with support from the group. Harry and Meredy were reluctant to be separated, but Neville assured them floo travel could keep them connected.

"This summer will be such fun, daddy cancelled our search for crumple horned snorkacks, but friends are more fun." Luna said in her dreamy tone. Lisanna smiled at her, if there was one thing Fairy Tail was good at, it was being family for people who needed it, a namaka.

When the train arrived at the station, the group split, promising to see each other soon, Meredy had refreshed the tracking link marks on the whole group and set them to run off the person's own magic, lessening the drain on herself, it would also alert others which person was in danger along with their location.

With a final kiss, Harry and Meredy went their separate, the whole group unaware to the turmoil within Harry, the lust for revenge on the man who killed his family and was threatening his new one.

 **POV switch**

Tom Marvolo Riddle always hated his name. Not the name in it's entirety, just his first name. Tom was such a common name, it was plain, lacking in depth. His middle name came from his noble pureblood grandfather, he could respect the man, but he was dead before Tom ever got to meet him. He had conflicting feeling about his last name, it emphasized his father, his lowly muggle father who had the nerve to run away from his mother, who was heir to the most ancient and powerful bloodline of Slytherin.

He had ensured that his muggle father died in agony, even created his first horcrux from his uncle's ring, but it didn't lessen the hate he felt, the scarring the orphanage left him with. All he felt was cold.

So he continued, he had seen what death looked like, and it scared him, ever since he had first killed he feared death, the abruptness of it, he refused to fall from the world like a common muggle like his father, and broken like his frail mother, who allowed a simple muggle to drive her to death.

So he began his campaign for immortality. Somewhere on that path, things took a turn, he realized that there would always be those who wanted him dead, it was a fact of the world. His mind was clouded, he suspected it may be from his creation of his many horcruxes, but he held onto his sanity the best he could.

But somewhere he slipped, he had begun gathering followers and they incited something within him, a sensation of glee with each torture and murder he committed. He allowed himself to become drunk of power and actively sought this sensation, like a common muggle drug junkie.

He turned others to his side, preaching blood purity, as ridiculous as it was, magic was magic, muggles were the only ones who deserved death. But he preached to the tune of his followers, and he became the most powerful Dark Lord in British history. The world lived in fear of him, and what resistance he faced came from a withered old man and his group of tree huggers. But they wanted him dead, and Voldemort wouldn't allow any threats to his life survive.

That was why he jumped on the bit of prophecy that foretold his downfall, he wouldn't allow a force to challenge his life, he would live.

When he turned his wand on the helpless child, he could feel something wrong, something telling him to leave and not return, but his clouded mind pushed the thought aside and he sent the killing curse at the child and his world exploded in pain.

He spent the following twelve years as a wraith, waiting for death to come, and for a chance at revival. And it finally came in the form of his most cowardly servant Peter Pettigrew.

What followed was a year long plan that was both convoluted and powered by his obsession with the Potter child. But it was worth it when he had the boy at his mercy in the graveyard.

He let his arrogance get the better of him again as he attempted to duel the child, and he suffered for it. At the end he was drained and all of those who came to him except his inner circle and Pettigrew were dead, it was a harsh blow, and to add insult to injury, the boy escaped to undoubtedly tell the world of his resurrection.

But instead of going out like he first wanted to, to kill and kill, his desire was tempered by twelve years of patience and thought, he wouldn't act like he did before, and he would leave the Potter boy alone unless he was prepared for the power the boy had, for that confrontation, he needed his most loyal servants back, and he needed his spy.

Voldemort was prepared to play the long game, but he needed something first, an insurance, he needed to know the whole prophecy, so Voldemort prepared himself for a long play, set in the deepest of shadows. He needed information and he needed followers, and he would have them both in time, he just had to hope Luscious convinced the minister to go after Dumbledore and ignore the obvious signs of his rising, but he was confident everything would go as he had planned.

 **And done, not much progression, but a good step forward. Next chapter will be a** _ **sirius**_ **turn around for some characters, get it...Bad joke. But it will be good, Dumbledore's move is planned and the toad is coming.**

 **Big thanks for all the positive reviews, if you think anything is going unaddressed, just let me know, your eyes will catch things I miss.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	20. Chapter 20

**I own nothing**

 **Following Harry, 3rd person POV**

What Neville called his house was actually a mansion.

Harry and Laxus's jaws both dropped when they used the magical fireplace to get to the front gate of Neville's 'house'.

"Next time you'll be able to floo straight into the house, but first time visitors have to come through the front gate, security and all that." Neville told the shocked duo as he led them into the house.

"So it's just you and your grandmother who live in this place, seems a little lonely." Laxus commented as they reached the front doors, which were large and imposing.

"Sometimes, but I have my plants, so it's not that bad. Fair warning, there are a lot of plants but all the dangerous one like we see in herbology are in the green houses around back. I know you can handle yourselves, but don't go back there without me, for the plant's sake." Neville told them as he let them in, which the lightning users just nodded at.

Neville was right when he talked about plants. Almost every table had one potted plant resting on it and there were easily a hundred hanging pots along the walls of the spacious hallways.

"Gran, I'm home, and I brought the friends I mentioned." Neville called into the spacious house while he dropped his trunk and a house elf whisked it away, probably to Neville's room.

"I'm in the sitting room, so don't try and sneak any of your blasted plants in here, this is my room!" a harsh but caring voice called from a hallway on the left and Neville gave a small grin.

"Coming Gran." Neville called and gestured for the two to follow him.

Madame Longbottom was a tall stately woman with the strangest choice of dress Harry had ever encountered. She wore strong bottle green robes, normal enough, but she also had a large crocodile skin hand bag resting by her side, a scarf that looked like the polecats Hagrid would occasionally have hanging around his own neck, and her hat was a stuffed vulture atop a brim.

That aside though, she emitted an aura of control and strictness. Any caring demeanor was hidden beneath the surface. It was easy to see why Neville had had such low confidence at the beginning of the year.

"I hope these two are up to Longbottom standards, I have no tolerance for idiots, of any sort." She said, a keen eye watching both Laxus and Harry, who both met her gaze.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Madam Longbottom, I must thank you for allowing us to stay in your home." Harry said with a short bow.

"Well at least one of you has manners, Neville has told me all about you Mr. Potter, I've never seen the boy so driven about something that wasn't his plants, he actually told me off over Easter Break for considering not playing host, and I must say it was a refreshing sight to see." the elderly woman said, a grin that looked more at home on Natsu spreading across her face as a blush flooded Neville's.

"Don't mind Laxus, try as his grandfather might, he never managed to get it into Laxus's head that first impressions can define a working relationship." Harry said and Laxus rolled his eyes, scuffing Harry lightly upside the head.

"Laugh all you want my former apprentice, I can still beat you in a fight, last time you barely managed a tie, and I wasn't at full power by a long shot." Laxus said, drawing an eye roll from Harry this time.

After a few more short words exchanged, Harry and Laxus were led to their rooms, close to Neville's own, which looked like a jungle with a bed.

Harry entered his own room and threw his bag down next to the bed, flopping face first into the fluffy pillow. Harry was tired, he still wasn't feeling completely better since the graveyard fight.

He knew he shouldn't let it get to him, but Voldemort's words kept ringing through his head. He had a family, and it had been torn away from him by Voldemort, and now that he had a family again, Harry was terrified it would be taken from him again, and that fear made him angry, angry at the horrible luck that seemed to follow him, and most of all he was angry at Voldemort for threatening his family, he wasn't going to let the bastard hurt anyone he cared about.

Not Natsu, not Lisanna, not Ultear, not Laxus. Neville, Luna, and Hermione had also made their way onto the list of people Harry wouldn't let the dark wanker lay a finger on. Most of all, Harry would not let the psychopath anywhere near Meredy, he thought he had lost her once and he was never going to let that happen again.

As much as Harry wanted to just go home, leave everything here behind, he also knew deep down that it wasn't going to be that simple, Voldemort wanted to kill him and Harry knew that when it came down to it, he wanted to kill Voldemort just as much.

As Harry drifted off to sleep for the night, the last thoughts through his mind were how he was going to convince the others to help him hunt down Voldemort, and if that failed how he would do it himself.

The following weeks were met with increasing frustration for Harry. He and Laxus had settled easily enough into the jungle esque house, and Madame Longbottom had allowed them access to the large library to continue their search, but they had no luck, most of the library was devoted to history and herbology, with a few books on various other subjects mixed in.

The rest of the group settled in easily enough at Luna's house. There was an extra room for Ultear and Meredy while Natsu and Lisanna camped outside. They had more luck than Harry and Laxus did, but all signs of their research pointed to research that was simply missing and also one book mentioned the Goblet and a set of artifacts called the Deathly Hollows, a myth Luna's father Xenophilius was only too happy to explain.

While most of the group brushed the story aside as a myth, Natsu was his normal excited self about it and Harry thought about it carefully, Death had told him once in passing about a single of artifact he had lost a long time ago, but he had presumed that he lost them in Earthland, not here, and the numbers were wrong, but maybe one of the three was real.

The most frustration for Harry though, was the rest of the group flat out refusing to do anything about Voldemort, he was a problem for this world, not their own, their only concern was only to get home, even Natsu, who usually was the first one to jump into danger to help others turned Harry down, he made a good point though, there were no random killings going on, Luna and Neville both agreed that everything was going on as normal, with the small exception that the Ministry was running a smear campaign against both Harry and Dumbledore for saying that a mass killer was back from the dead.

Late July held a pair of birthdays, for both Neville, who had a small gathering, refusing to let his grandmother hold a formal party, and one for Harry, who had never known his birthday before coming back to this world.

Most of Harry's gifts were books and the like about various runic magic, which he had a solid understanding of at this point, and could pull quite a few tricks mixing both basic Fiore runes and simple Futhark ones. Individually, they would be torn apart in a matter of seconds, but together, one could be bypassed, making the other trigger, unless the person knew both world's runes, which was only Harry.

His favorite present came form Meredy though, it was a simple stone necklace on a durable leather band, a skull like witch head with the stereotypical witch hat, a symbol for protection from evil in one of the obscure magics on Earth. The magic in the necklace though, was even more extraordinary. Meredy had been studying a branch of enchanting magic from books from the Lovegood collection. The necklace acted as a permanent telepathic communication link that matched a similar necklace that Meredy wore. Either of them could hold the charm and activate the link, and the bonus was Meredy didn't need to spend magic holding the connection, making talking much easier.

That excitement aside, Harry was starting to get cabin fever. That frustration came to head when the Daily Prophet came one August morning.

 **New Standard Set for Education, Ministry takes Action**

 _At the last Wizengamot session, a bill proposed by Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge, whose normal proposals include the prosecution of half giants, werewolves, goblins and other non humans, was most pleased with the support that her new bill received. It was the first of her bills to pass almost unanimously, including support from Headmaster Albus Dumbledore before he was voted out of office later that same meeting._

 _The new bill now enforces the attendence of all underaged wizards to a Ministry approved school, preventing homeschooling and dropouts._

 _"This new bill allows the Ministry to monitor what is taught to our impressionable youth and ensures the next generation is prepared for everything our world has to offer." Madame Umbridge told to reporters after the bill was passed._

 _"While I usually disagree with her, Madam Umbridge's new bill ensures no child is left behind educationally, and hopefully will mean more contributing members of our society in the future. The parents who believe the bill infringes upon family rights have plenty of time to teach their children what they want during the summer." Albus Dumbledore stated._

 _"Both this bill and the slander of Albus are both ridiculous, it's quite clear to me that fear of shadows and truth is what runs the Ministry now. Parents should hold the decision for their children's education, not the government." Griselda Marchbanks told the Daily Prophet before promptly retiring from the Wizengamot._

 _For full details about the suspicions of Madam Marchbanks being romantically involved with goblins, turn to page 5_

 _For the full story of the advancing age of Albus Dumbledore and poor decisions that may have come from it, turn to page 6_

 _For a full list of unenrolled students who will be required to attend schools throughout England, turn to page 7_

Harry was fuming as he read the paper and Laxus was watching him warily. Harry rarely got really angry, but when he did he let it all out on anyone who was close by. Harry handed the paper to Laxus and returned to his other mail, which was four parchment envelopes.

Laxus scanned the paper and the list and gave a small sigh of relief, the situation wasn't completely unsalvageable, Meredy was also on the list. He was about to tell Harry when said boy started growling at the letters in his hands.

"What is it now, I'm assuming those are invitations from all the schools in the area you are forced to attend?" Laxus asked carefully, laying the paper on the table so Harry could see Meredy was on the list.

"Yeah, and all except Hogwarts have stated they are unwilling to accept me due to 'mental instability', things that claiming Voldemort is back and I spent a time in a different world, ignoring the obvious proof in front of them." Harry growled as he flipped through the letters once again, stopping at the Hogwarts one and angrily shoving it into his pocket. The newspaper followed after that.

"I'm going to take a quick walk, be back by lunch." Harry told Laxus as he scampered off, muttering quite a few curse words at the Ministry, Dumbledore, and the Umbridge woman, whose photo on the paper made her look like a toad, and a very ugly toad at that.

What Harry hadn't told Laxus was that he had no intention of returning for lunch THAT DAY. He was beyond pissed and wanted a few days alone to think, so Harry grabbed his mostly packed bag and headed out, leaving the safety of Longbottom manner.

As Harry walked, he came into London, fitting in smoothly in his worn but fitting jeans and stylishly faded zip up black sweatshirt. While it may have been a lot of money, the Tri-wizard earnings, as well as his own newly discovered funds inside the wizard bank had been put to good use by the entire group for clothing and the like.

As Harry walked around one of the beaten neighborhoods, he felt the air growing colder. It was strange, even in London, a sweatshirt should have been more than enough to keep him warm in the summer.

He was walking the mostly destroyed Grimmauld street when he realized the source of the cold. A pair of dark cloaked figures, one at either end of the street emitted the cold sensation as they gave off rattled breathes.

Harry momentarily froze as he recognized the dementors, keepers of the wizarding jail and one time servants of Voldemort. Harry quickly sent a distress message through his necklace to Meredy about the dementors and his location before he snapped back into focus, readying himself for the dementors.

As they approached Harry fought off the cold sensation that was touching him to his bones and sent bolts of lightning at both creature's heads, only to have the magic absorbed into the dark folds of its' cloak.

Harry frowned, moving back into one of the front yards of the old battered houses, fighting off the roaring of fire he could hear in his head, the maniacal laughter of a god slayer driven insane by his own power, the mocking tones of the reaper as he taunted Harry over Meredy's 'death'.

Harry stood his ground even as the two monstrosities approached at an even pace, gliding towards their prey in no particular hurry, where would he run after all.

Harry could hear a screaming now, and a cruel high laugh he recognized as Voldemort's and a flash of green overtook his vision, Harry felt his legs give out from under him as he fell onto his knees, the dementors growing ever closer, the cold feeling going through his bones and into the very core of his being.

Harry gave a growl of defiance as his vision began to blacked, he refused to go out like this, he had to fight it. Harry flooded his mind with as many thoughts of Meredy as he could, happy memories from his journeys with Laxus, his brief visits to Fairy Tail and the eternal joy that seemed to run through the guild.

Harry focused his magic and let loose. "Death God's PULSE!" Harry his magic knock back the dementors, and to his surprise, his slayer magic sent the dementors flying backwards, head over whatever they floated with. Harry felt his mind clear slightly and gave a predatory grin, these things were just like any other demon or etherious he had fought, they weren't as invincible as the wizards thought.

"Death God's strike!" Harry yelled and punched one of the dementors in the chest, forcing his fist through the bony frame of the dementor. Harry quickly withdrew his arm, not letting himself stay to close to the dementor's oppressive aura for too long.

"Death God's BELLOW!" Harry called and his breath attack smashed into the already damaged dementor and turned it to dust, leaving behind bits of tattered cloak.

The second dementor caught Harry off guard, somehow sneaking up behind him and grabbing his arms with its decaying wet hands. It thrust its face into Harry's and gave a long rattling breathe. Harry felt his magic slipping away, not just the energy, but his core itself, his necklace gave a spark and fizzled, loosing it's magical properties, the tracker band Meredy had placed on him also faded away.

"Not today bastard." Harry growled using what he could of his magic and channeling it over his face.

"Death God's SKULL EATER!" Harry called as the skull shaped helmet formed over his face and he headbutted the dementor as hard as he could, caving the creature's face it as it fell to the ground, clearly no longer alive as it's aura died away, leaving a drained and dazed Harry standing on withered grass next to the two piles of ashes.

"Stupefy." Was the last thing Harry heard as a red spell caught him in the back. The last thing Harry before passing out was the face of Albus Dumbledore, a new wand in his grasp.

 **Following Meredy, 3rd person POV**

While Meredy settled into Luna's strange house easily enough, she knew things were only in a holding pattern. None of the others seemed to notice, even Laxus and Natsu who were close to Harry, but he was getting restless. Voldemort got to him and he wanted to do something about him. Natsu, who was usually all over bad guys who might threaten his family, was very nonchalant about the whole scenario. If the guy wasn't acting yet, he had to be planning, so Natsu was pushing everyone in training, but dismissed Harry's concerns about acting now.

Laxus, Ultear, and Lisanna were completely focused on finding a way home, Ultear seemed to be most driven, her research focusing on specific wizards who had studied the topic in the past.

Meredy knew something bad was going to happen soon and Harry would wind up in trouble, all that was missing was a spark to ignite the powder keg that was Harry right now.

That spark came in the newspaper and a few letters in the same day. Meredy breezed through the article and and letters. Apparently she was unstable and only Hogwarts would accept her, and she had a feeling that Harry had received similar news, so when she got a ping from their matching necklaces that he was in trouble with dementors at a place called Grimmauld street, she and Ultear were flying through the floo system to the Leaky Cauldron to find him in the twisting streets of London.

By that time the necklace and the tracking link had gone dead, which didn't mean that Harry was dead, but facing dementors would mean it wasn't his life that was in danger, but his soul. When the two ex-Grimoire Heart mages got to where the necklace had last sent a location, all they found were two piles of ashes with torn black cloaks and misnumbered homes.

Meredy was worried beyond belief, but she tried to put on a brave face.

"He's fine, he's just in a little trouble, he beat the dementors, he'll be fine." Meredy said shakily as Ultear pulled her into a tight hug.

"We'll find him, and you can be sure whoever took him will have hell to pay." Ultear agreed and the two set back to Luna's house to hold a war council, the Earthland group had been mostly content with finding a way home and not interfering with anything in this world, but now the wizards here had messed with one of their own, and no one messes with a Fairy Tail wizard's nakama and gets away with it.

 **Back to following Harry, 3rd person POV**

When Harry woke up he was tied to a chair. It was a first for sure, usually dark mages, monsters, and demons would simply kill their victims, which told Harry that whoever had him needed him alive. They were also stupid enough to use simple rope.

Harry quickly turned into lightning and burnt out of the rope, leaving him free and rubbing his wrists as he took in the room he was in. The room was dark and musty, clearly an attempt had been made to clean, but not a very good one. There was a queen sized bed against one wall and a dresser next to it, along with a nightstand and a little other loose furniture, all of it made from the same dark wood and deep red blankets were over the bed.

There was a small window overlooking the front yard he had fought the dementors in, but there was no one out there. The only door in and out of the room was locked tightly, and the window wouldn't budge.

Harry carefully thought over his situation before he came to a decision. Using his still recovering magic Harry made a dual language rune effect just inside the door, then started stomping around on the floor, to draw attention from anyone else in the building.

Harry heard running up a set of steps and heard a gathering on the other side of the door. He waited patiently across from the door by the window.

It didn't take long for the door to burst open and for the whole group that entered to trigger his rune trap.

The group of wizards, consisting of Albus Dumbledore, a pale greasy haired man Harry recognized from descriptions as Snape, the potions master who Luna had cryptically warned wanted him dead, a ragged man with long scars down his pale face, and a long black haired man who was the only one without his wand drawn, on the contrary, when the runes sprang up around them his smile grew even larger.

"Told you Moony, now pay up." the black haired man said to the ragged man, who had immediately switched to examining the runes.

"The bet is he would have us trapped in a way we couldn't get out, this is a simple rune trap Sirius, easy enough to get out of if one knows where to look." the scarred man, Moony said, jabbing his wand at a specific line of the floating runes that made up the cage. He was rewarded with a vicious jolt of electricity for his efforts.

Dumbledore and Snape took a break from their own studying of the wards to gaze at the fallen man while the black haired man, Sirius, laughed loudly.

"Good one pup, is it just the one trick, or can it do more?" he asked Harry, taking the chance to study the runes Moony had struck, who was getting up slowly, his hair smoking.

"A multitude, depends on where you try and take it apart, you all gave me plenty of time to prepare, enough that none of you will be able to get out." Harry said with a sly smile forming on his face. While completely impractical in combat, rune traps could be quite enjoyable.

"You'll be a Marauder yet pup, now cough it up Remus." Sirius laughed again and Harry found he was beginning to like the black haired man, for both his carefree attitude and the fact he was the only one who didn't have a wand drawn when he entered the room.

"Fine fine, I don't know why I make bets with you any more, you always seem to win them." Remus grumbled and tossed Sirius a few silver coins, sickles if Harry recognized correctly.

"Now for introductions."Sirius said, ignoring the glares from the other three wizards trapped with him.

"First we have way-too-many -names-Dumbledore, who you should already know, the greasy bat Snivellus, my good friend Remus Lupin, and I am Sirius Black." Sirius said with a bow, said bow also meant the spell Snape sent his way missed him and struck the rune sheild, and all of Snape's hair fell out, drawing roars of laughter from Sirius and Lupin.

Snape tried to wave his wand to fix his hair, but nothing happened, making the man even angrier.

"POTTER! You will let us go and fix my hair immediately if you want to leave here with your life!" the man yelled and Harry simply tutted.

"I have you all trapped, your companions, even Dumbledore recognizes that, I dictate the terms now." Harry said with an evil smirk on his face.

"Let's hear it then, how many strippers does the boy want."Sirius said, rubbing his hands together like a super villain, dodging a hex from Remus this time. The rune shield took the hair turning all of Lupin's skin purple and his hair bright orange, drawing another round of laughs from Sirius.

"None, I have a girlfriend who is without a doubt very worried about me, what I want is all the information you have on Voldemort, and I want help finding and killing him." Harry said simply, drawing a laugh from Sirius again.

"You're your father's son Harry, he wouldn't let anything go if it was after his family, I don't know about the others, but I'll help you however I can." Sirius said, ignoring protests from Snape and Dumbledore, who finally jumped into the conversation.

"You are still a child Harry, and killing should never be your first choice, we will help, but there are things you are still too young to know." Dumbledore said, trying to find a middle ground.

"You kidnapped me, I now clearly have the upper hand, you tell me everything." Harry insisted, staring down the old man, ignoring Snape calling him an ignorant child.

"Just say yes Albus, or we'll be stuck in here for god knows how long and suffer god knows how many of these pranks." Remus groaned, trying and failing to fix his now bright coloring.

"Oh fine, but I warn you, there are things that should not be shared." Dumbledore warned, but Harry brushed him aside.

"When I get back to my friends, I'm telling them everything." he said and walked out the door, stopping only to quickly press a combination of runes on the shield, making it collapse, the effects on Lupin and Snape however, remained.

"You'll be stuck like that for maybe a day or two before the effect fades Lupin, and you'll just need to regrow your hair naturally Snape, as your scalp is now magic resistant for about a month." Harry said as he made his way down the stairs, ignoring a growl from Snape and a loud laugh from Sirius.

Sirius quickly caught up with Harry and led him to the kitchen, where a collection of redheads, and a pink haired witch were eating dinner, and they all froze when they saw him. Harry was displeased to see Ronald, who still disgusted him, and he was slightly concerned with the red haired girl who was giving him bedroom eyes, a term Loke had described to him during one of his brief stops at the guild hall. Harry was most pleased to see the twins and knew they would appreciate his little joke.

"I think everyone knows our guest, Mr. Harry Potter, Harry, welcome to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." Sirius said with a wide smile on his face

 **And done, next chapter should get up to the train, maybe to hogwarts itself, but it should be good, will probably include both sorting and wand getting for Harry and Meredy, I already know which houses I'm going with, but they shouldn't really be much of a surprise. Umbridge already getting herself on the hate list, and Harry plays marauder a little bit.**

 **The whole fifth year will be a struggle for Harry, anger and revenge plots, very few people he actually trusts and far more who think he is a deranged lunatic. No DA, but there will be a small surprise similar. I have a good deal planned out, but it's more in the future than immediately, so some work needed there. Hope this chapter is up to par, and I hope I introduced Sirius right, he's always been my absolute favorite character, so he won't be dieing this time around...probably.**

 **All the reviews and favs, even if it is just a 'good job man' are awesome and make me feel better about what I write, so keep up the good work guys.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	21. Chapter 21

**I don't own FT and HP**

Laxus finally understood why his grandfather drank so much.

When the group had first crash landed into this new world, Laxus just went with it, no one here was powerful enough to actually challenge him strength wise, so he just watched and interacted with the teachers while the other five incorporated themselves with the students. Maybe it was because he basically made himself a teacher or the others already thought of him as such, Laxus felt the reigns of leadership fall to him. The others looked to him as a pillar of strength and wisdom.

With that role, Laxus felt himself caring less and less about what others could do for him and more about how to keep the group from making countless messes. Laxus had to always keep an eye on Natsu in case he was feeling particularly excitable and took to causing explosions, usually Lisanna kept him in check, but by the end of the year, Natsu had still torched four rooms.

The girls never really needed him, but they looked to him for training and advice, being the eldest, he would do what he could, but he always felt he had never done enough.

Harry looked to Laxus the least, having learned from him for years, but if Laxus made a decision, Harry agreed, no questions asked.

They gave him the respect he had always wanted, not the fanatical loyalty the Thunder Legion had given, but real comradeship, they would fight by his side if he only asked. But it went further than that for Laxus, he never felt once that he was above them, he was worth more, if anything, he felt he was worth the least.

It made everything Makarov did make perfect sense, calling the members his children and his willingness to fight the council at every turn if it put anyone of them in jeopardy.

But that fulfilling sensation came with an equal burden. Laxus felt he was responsible for every bad thing that happened, and when Harry got kidnapped and he was forced to sit by because of 'traditional rules', he almost blasted the other judges.

Now Harry kept bugging to go after the bastard who had put him in the hospital for almost a week, even his fight with Harry during Fantasia hadn't put him down for that long. Granted Porlyusica was a much better healer, but that was beside the point.

Laxus wouldn't say it to his face, but Harry wasn't ready to fight Voldemort. In terms of magic Harry could destroy the guy sure, Harry's brand of slayer magic was ridiculously effective against the weak cores that most people in this world had.

Harry had been thrown off his game, Voldemort had gotten into his head and that meant Harry couldn't fight to the best of ability. While slayers usually had to be intimately involved with their emotions as well as their magic, Harry was different, when he got angry, he got sloppy, less emotion made him stronger. Natsu was the opposite, the more emotion, the more power. Laxus was closer to Natsu on the spectrum, but Gajeel was more like Harry.

Laxus guessed it had to do with representing their element. Natsu ruled when he burned bright while Harry fought his best when acting as a cold persona of death. As long as Harry wasn't in control off his emotions, Laxus refused to go after Voldemort, it would only hurt Harry more.

But he knew things weren't going to remain this way unless they found a way back home, so Laxus pushed everyone in that direction. But that all went to hell when the new bill got passed and Harry and Meredy were forcefully enrolled into Hogwarts, they would be a part of the system now, forced to be sorted into the silly houses and follow the convoluted rules.

Harry didn't take the news well and stormed off, Laxus let him have his space, but when Meredy told him Harry had triggered his help signal before going black, Laxus lost his cool. Harry was his student, not anyone else's. Laxus knew that Dumbledore had something to do with Harry's signal and was determined to help as best he could. That's when he noticed a certain job add in Neville's copy of the paper and a nasty smile spread over his face, Harry wasn't going to be stuck in that castle with only Meredy as backup, not if he could help it.

 **following Meredy, 3rd person POV**

The rest of the summer waiting for the trip to Hogwarts was nerve wracking for everyone. Harry had managed to get Laxus a letter saying he was fine and would see Meredy on the train. Since then there had been no contact since then, they all had to trust Harry could take care of himself.

The trip to Diagon Alley had been mostly uneventful with the exception of both Laxus and Meredy getting wands. While Meredy needed one to be a student, Laxus said he simply wanted to try his hand with some new magic, the smile he had on his face and abundance of defensive magic texts he had also spent most of his own money on said otherwise.

Laxus's wand had been 13 inches of lightning struck applewood with a thunder bird tail feather crossed with a dragon heartstring for its core. Ollivander had commented it was particularly unyielding and good for battle magics.

Meredy's wand on the other hand, held some surprises. It was only 11 and a half inches, made from the branch of a cherry tree, the most precise and lethal of the woods. The core was what made it interesting. Ollivander had told them that the core was the hair of a dark elf. What made that interesting was that dark elves were masters of illusion and only someone who could take in every detail, every sensation, could truly master the wand. Meredy had simply given the old man a happy smile and paid for her wand.

While they had been worried at first if they could channel magic through their new wands, the Earthlands wizards were happy to find that wand magic was ridiculously easy compared to their own spells, not to mention much less taxing.

Meredy had quickly gone through the spell books for the previous years and had started to practice the spells for the upcoming years. She didn't bother with any of the non wands classes, they would be simple enough to pick up. DADA, charms, and transfiguration held the most interest for Meredy. She had signed up for Care of magical creatures and ancient runes as electives, figuring that Harry would choose those classes over the other electives.

Meredy was determined to learn as much combat useable magic as she could, she wasn't going to let Harry be the only one putting his neck on the line this year, she was going to help him, even if that meant jumping through the rabbit hole after Voldemort.

September first came quick after that. Laxus had left early in the morning claiming he had business to take care of, so Ultear had gone with Meredy to the platform, as well as Luna and her father.

"Keep an eye on Harry, we don't know what he's been through since he got stuck where ever he was, just be there for him, Voldemort got to him and he hasn't been himself, he needs you more now than ever." Ultear told her, pulling her adoptive daughter into a tight hug Meredy returned.

"He's Harry, he'll be fine, everyone else is who really needs to be careful." Meredy joked back before boarding the train.

 **Following Harry 3rd person POV**

At the sight of a multicolored Lupin and bald Snape, anything Harry had to say or anything that was going to be said about Sirius's introduction was forgotten as the whole kitchen descended into laughter, the exceptions being those who had just entered and a woman Harry assumed the mama Weasley.

After brief introductions to the people in the kitchen that he didn't know, Harry sat down and ate like Natsu. The meal was a boisterous affair, with the twins, the pink haired woman who introduced herself as Tonks, and Sirius, there were laughs a plenty. After the meal though, things began to take a turn downhill.

"So, tell me what's Voldemonkey is up to, where's he been hiding?" Harry asked, turning his gaze onto everyone present.

"You are a mere child, you have no right to demand information, just go to bed, you can start helping with the cleaning tomorrow." Mrs. Weasley told him in a harsh cold tone, and while Harry could appreciate the woman's fantastic cooking, he would not allow this harpy to control him.

Harry lifted his hand and pointed a finger gun at he forehead and let his lightning crackle across his fingers, showing he was effectively holding a weapon to her head.

"I made a deal with your good leader over there, and I intend to see it through, that means I want information and I want in on the fight before I get stuffed up in a castle like a sitting duck for 9 months. So sit down and shut the fuck up." Harry growled, letting his displeasure known.

"He is correct Molly, although his language could be improved, he was promised information, and he knows a good deal as it is. The other children though, I believe have beds to find." Dumbledore said with the ever present twinkle in his eyes.

"If you say so Professor. You heard him you lot, bed, and don't go complaining Fred, George, if you get special permission from Dumbledore you can sit in too." Mrs. Weasley said, shooing all but two of the other Weasleys out of the room.

"So let me have, Voldemort's back, what's his play?" Harry asked, his gaze shifting around the table.

"Your escape and decimation of most of his forces the night of his revival has crippled the immediate effect of his return. You took him from a solid power base to few Death Eaters who are truly loyal. Malfoy acts as his second and funding while Wormtail heads up recruitment of any able bodied pureblood. Fenrir Greyback, who wasn't present at the revival, is recruiting the werewolf packs of the world under his banner and I am supposed to be his spy." Snape said, glaring at Harry the entire time, who could tell there were countless things he would be rather discussing and with anyone else if at all possible.

"Yes you did do a good job then, but I am disappointed you killed so many that night, was there truly no other way, they could have been given second chances." Dumbledore said in his old man voice and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Most looked like they were around the first time, which means this was their second chance, and they failed. While I usually try not to kill anyone, as it is strongly discouraged in my guild, my magic, when unrestrained, can kill very easily, it's why I never used it during the tournament." Harry said, answering the old man and laying his own bait for them, keep them guessing and trying to figure out his magic and not on his actions.

"I see, I disagree, but you are alive so I can't argue too much, just encourage you to show mercy in the future, killing is never the right answer." Dumbledore said gravely, but turning back to the subject at hand.

"There has to be something besides followers, since the Ministry is so kindly ignoring his return he must be working in the shadows, but he has to be working on his reveal, and a way to get his followers out of prison." Harry said, trying to think like a dark wizard.

"Right in one Harry, he will go for Azkaban at one point or another, but there is something else he wants even more, something he didn't have last time." Remus said, running a hand through his bright orange hair.

"Is it a spell, a magical weapon, information?" Harry pressed, addressing Sirius, who Harry knew was most likely to answer him, and he was about to before Mrs. Weasley cut him off.

"That is quite enough and I'm sure you agree headmaster, telling him any more would basically induct him into the Order." she said, but Harry had put the pieces together at this point, especially how everyone had reacted to him guessing information and glancing at him.

"He wants the full wording of the Prophecy regarding himself and I, doesn't he, and you all are trying to guard it, probably a public record somewhere, within the Ministry itself." Harry guessed and the color draining off most people's faces and the brilliant smile Sirius and Tonks had confirmed the theory.

"That is correct Harry, and i'm sure you can understand why we must keep the information protected as best we can." Dumbledore said, removing his glasses and rubbing his temples with one hand, losing his imagine of the all knowing Grandfather, for a split second Harry could see the man underneath Dumbledore's well practiced mask. "All prophecies are detected, recorded, and held within the department of mysteries, which is where magical research takes place and new spells are created. While they are kept there, the Prophecies can only be heard by those who are mentioned in the Prophecy, and the one it was told too."

"Which means only Voldemort, myself, and I'm guessing you can remove it, meaning that any guarding you do is just putting a target in front of Voldemort, you would be much better off trying to keep his recruiting down, or at least try and keep his lieutenants in prison." Harry argued.

"That's what I've been saying, but some people insist that guards are still the way to go in regards to the prophecy." Sirius said, glaring at both dumbledore and Snape.

"I don't know the wording, but I'm guessing it says only I can kill the guy, which is why you all are so desperate to get me on your side and marching to your tune, am I right?" Harry asked, although no response was given.

"That's all for tonight, anything we forgot can be covered at a later meeting when other members of the Order are present, we can pull them from searching for you. Can you also give your Gringotts key to Mrs. Weasley so she can get school supplies for you for the year?" Dumbledore asked gently and Harry glared at both the old man and the expectant look on Mrs. Weasley's face.

"You want me to entrust all my money to someone I just met today and don't particularly like, you must be on some sort of drugs to suggest that, I also must acquire a wand, which I am told requires my presence." Harry

"He's right Albus, on both counts, he souldn't give his key to anyone unless he trusts them with his life, and the wand chooses the wizard as the term goes." Sirius said, his own glare matching one from Tonks and Harry's own.

"I have here a wand I think will suit him quite nicely." Dumbledore said, pulling a long thin box from within his robes. Inside was a soft brown wand that looked like it was made of holly.

When Harry reached to pick up the wand, he felt his own magical core roar in protest to the wand. Sure if he picked the wand up he would be able to use it, but he sensed malicious intent behind it.

"I'll pass, the wand it feels completely wrong, like a sickness." Harry said, glaring at the piece of wood like he was trying to will it to catch on fire.

"If you insist. I will arrange a guard detail to take you to diagon Alley then, I will leave the wand though in case you wish to try it." Dumbledore said and with that the meeting was over and everyone went to their respective rooms if they were staying, or to their own home.

Early the next morning Harry snuck out with his Hogwarts letter, while there was no listed DADA text, it had been marked as to be updated, he could buy the rest of his materials and wand, he flat out refused to try the stick Dumbledore had brought in.

Everything was simple enough to find, although if he hadn't bought the magic activated shrinking trunk first, he would have had a hard time carrying everything around.

Harry's last stop was for his wand, save the best for last. As Harry entered, his slayer's nose picked up the scent of pure magic emanating from the shop, it completely overwhelmed his senses for a brief moment.

"I was wondering when you'd be in to see me Mr. Potter, your family has quite the history with wands. Your mother's was willow, 12 inches, swishy and excellent for charms, your father preferred 11 inches of mahogany, suited for transfiguration. That your mother had the longer wand was the story for their relationship I believe." a grizzled old man came from within the shop, chuckling at his little joke. Harry's advanced hadn't picked him up all with all the interference from within the shop.

"I've sold other wands as well though. 13 in yew and phoenix feather is responsible for the sacr I can faintly see upon your brow. Dumbledore was in just yesterday to fetch it's brother wand, but I can not see it with you." Ollivander said, clearly asking a question.

"If you are referring to the holly stick he offered me, It felt sick, cursed, I didn't even have to touch it to tell." Harry answered with a shiver, he definetly was glad he hadn't taken the wand now, he wanted nothing to do with Voldemort or his wand.

"I see, let's work from there then, which is your wand hand?" Ollivander asked, already going through his collection of boxed wands.

"Left." Harry answered, drawing a raised eyebrow from the old man, but no protest. Harry wanted to keep his main magic in his main hand, if he ever got into a fight, drawing a wand was one of the last things he would pull, barring extreme circumstances.

"I see, try this then, 14 inches, cherry blossom and dragon heartstring." Ollivander said, offering the wand to Harry, who took it gently, not sensing anything malicious from the wand. He gave it a quick wave, but the only result was an exploding vase.

"Nope, let's try that again. " Was all Ollivander said like exploding vases were a common occurrence.

And so Harry tried wand after wand, each resulting in the destruction of some part of the shop.

"Well Mr. Potter, I will have you follow me, it is clear your magic is too complex and too advanced for a basic wand, I'll show you the vault, and if nothing there suits you we shall have to do a custom order." despite the extra work, Ollivander seemed positively thrilled at the prospect of making a custom wand.

"The vault Mr. Potter, holds the most dangerous creation of each of my ancestors to previously own the shop, each took the art of wand crafting to a new level, and only one of their creations have found their partners. I myself finished my contribution to the vault a few years back, what fun it was to craft." Ollivander said, leading Harry to a back room, then through a heavily warded trap door from there.

"You see, no one has ever needed something besides a basic wand for such a long time, while Knockturn Alley does have a few crafters who works strictly in customs, they are poorly made and don't work as well as they should. Even Dumbledore, who recently lost his own wand only needed a standard phoenix feather and old oak, just like his old one." Ollivander said as he revealed the vault to Harry.

Each wand rested inside a glass case with a name plate next to them, the only empty case was the first case.

"Yes, the first Ollivander crafted his wand and died the day after it was completed. It was sold some four hundred years ago to a strange young man who called himself Zeref. As far as I know, he was a wanderer, never had schooling, and soon after he purchased the wand he was never seen again. But enough about that. Feel with your magic, see if any of the wands call out to you.

Promising to look into what Zeref of all people was doing dimension hopping another time, Harry closed his eyes and stretched out his senses.

Each of the wands had a distinct feel to it, there was ones that felt like several of the wizards he knew, Laxus and Meredy among them, one felt like it was emanating fire like Natsu did. None of them felt like Ultear or Lisanna, but he did feel one similar to Freed and one that shone like Makarov.

That's when he felt it. It was small, like a raindrop in the middle of a storm, but it felt right, like his own magic had shaped it.

Harry let the small feeling guide him and soon his hand was resting on one of the cases.

"I see, 11 inches, wood from a pine tree harvested during a new moon, the whole wand was soaked in the essence of a boggart, and the core is most curious, my grandfather who made the wand never said exactly what the core was, he only said it's owner would know what it was, when I tried to find out, all I could sense was raw magic flowing throughout the wand." Ollivander said as Harry examined the wand. The wood was a light beachy color with a scale like pattern carved into it. Harry felt the magic flowing within the wand and was surprised, it felt like a mixture of his own magic crossed with the dragon element of Laxus and Natsu's magic.

"I think I know what is, and I would really like to know how he did it, it feels like the breathe attack of a dragon, one that aligns with me elementally. How your grandfather got access to a dragon from another world, much less contained the essence of it's most powerful attack is incredible." Harry said as he looked the wand over.

"Hm, that is quite incredible." Ollivander said, watching Harry as he handed the wand to Harry and watched as dark grey and green sparks flowed smoothly from the tip.

"I'm starting to think wands of this caliber can only be wielded by people with magical connection to Earthland, Zeref was the most powerful dark lord in history there, and he is still around, causing chaos every now and then." Harry said, looking at the wands still in the cases.

"I see, that is a terrible shame, but I will keep that in mind if any of your friends come for a wand."

"If Laxus, Meredy or Natsu come in, those three will work for them, they resonate with their magic almost perfectly." Harry said, pointing at three more wands inside the room.

"I see, I shall keep that in mind, thank you Mr. Potter, my grandfather was a mentor to me and it means a lot that his greatest creation has found its partner. Take good care of that wand Mr. Potter, it has great power, and that means you must show great restraint." the old wand maker said and with those parting words Harry left and made his way back to Grimmauld place as it was almost lunch time and he was hungry after a full morning of shopping.

Harry was of course greeted by everyone except the twins and Sirius running around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for him. After brushing their concern aside, Harry went up to his room, where he would remain practicing with his new wand, mastering restraining how much power he used. His first attempt at the fire charm wound up looking like something Natsu would do, but it also gave him an excellent chance to practice the repairing charm.

When the requirement for a defensive book came in, Harry heard the Weasley twins comparing lists and saying they must have a teacher who must know what they were doing, as the book was one of the best and actually helped on all facets of defense, not just the magical portion.

Harry's attitude went in a downwards spiral as the school neared. He was allowed to sit in on each meeting, but his opinion was scoffed at by most everyone. Everyone seemed to be content with doing the bare minimum to fight Voldemort so they could sleep easy at night. So that they could say that they were prepared when he revealed himself and they could brag, Harry was disgusted. The only people he could stand in the entire house were the twins, Tonks, and Sirius.

All five were jokers at heart and the only times Harry felt his heart lighten was when he was helping with his runes to prank the other members, mostly Ron. Harry was delighted to find out Sirius was his godfather and wanted to have him meet the rest of the group, but Sirius explained how Pettigrew had framed him and he had been chucked into prison without a trial, and he never would get one because Malfoy wanted his fortune and he couldn't give it to anyone else while he still held influence.

By September first, Harry was ready to get the hell out of Grimmauld place, even though he knew that he would be going to Hogwarts, which would be mostly more of the same. A quick glance at the morning paper revealed that the Ministry had set a new educational decree, saying ghosts cannot be teachers, and Madam Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge would take the post for the coming year. Harry gave a cruel laugh at this, he could get payback at the woman.

But the best news of all for Harry was he would see Meredy again on the train. He only hoped he wasn't to angry with him was his last thought as he boarded the train.

 **Note of reference, Harry got his wand before Meredy and Laxus did, which was how Ollivander knew which ones to give them, and Natsu will get one later. For those who haven't guessed, Laxus will be the new DADA teacher and he will do things differently. Umbridge will still be a bitch, an even bigger one possibly, but I'll let you all decide that.**

 **I won't be doing the DA, doesn't fit with the characters, but there will be something else to take its place. Weasley twins will be going off the chain so that should be funny.**

 **Harry is getting increasingly unstable, his anger at Voldemort combined with his feeling that he is being ignored and hated are pushing him to the edge. He will get worse as the year goes on.**

 **I have planned out how to get the group back to Earthland and what will happen once they're there, so that should be fun, really really fun.**

 **I'm going to be with extremely questionable wifi for the next three weeks, I'll still be able to write, but not post, so patience, I will dump post everything I write when I get the chance. Almost to 1000 follows so let's get there people.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own FT or HP**

The train wasn't very busy two hours before it's departure time Harry noted as he wandered the nearly abandoned station and train. The Weasley's had split from him and went to their own compartments on the train as soon as they arrived, Fred and George to plan pranks and Ronald boasting about becoming a prefect. Harry knew Neville would be much better suited for the job, but Dumbledore was playing the people. Again.

Harry finally found a compartment near the back of the train and slapped a fiore rune over the door, tuning it to Meredy, she would be able to find him easy enough and bring Neville, Luna, and Hermione with her.

It was twenty minutes before the train was scheduled to depart that Meredy slipped into the compartment. She gave Harry a withering look and before she could tear strips off him he jumped off the bench and pulled her into a deep kiss, one that showed how glad he was to see her again, and he wouldn't be doing anything overly stupid any time soon.

Meredy held onto Harry as they kissed, their first real kiss since before the third task.

"You are still in trouble, do you have any idea how panicked everyone was, Lisanna had to keep Natsu from storming the school to find you." Meredy said as their kiss broke, her head resting on Harry's chest. Harry had grown over the summer, instead of being nearly equal height, Meredy now only went up to his jawline. Both had let their hair grow out and Meredy had ditched the crown like head piece, leaving her with no remnants of her time with Grimoire Heart.

"Now as much as I like keeping you all to myself, we have other friends to let in so drop the rune." Meredy said, pulling away from Harry with one last teasing peck on his lips.

"Yeah yeah." Harry grumbled as he let the rune drop, which let Luna and Neville into the compartment.

"Hermione's will be at the prefect's meeting for the first part of the trip, and she'll have to make rounds on the train during the trip, so it'll be just us for a while." Neville said as he and Luna sat on the bench across from Harry and Meredy, who had separated but were still holding each other's hands.

"Weasley, the loud one, mentioned something like that too, what Dumbledore was thinking when he gave that prat power I don't know." Harry said

"Which brings us to the more important topics, where did you vanish too?" Neville asked, and Harry gave a quick run down of his encounter with the dementors and how Dumbledore struck a deal with him, information for being forced to stay in a house that he couldn't name because magic, Luna called it the secret shield. Neville told them it was the Fidelius charm.

"So basically they all treated you like a kid, despite the fact you clearly are more powerful and experienced than all of them?" Neville asked, but he didn't look very surprised.

"Basically, the only people I could stand in the whole house were the twins, my falsely convicted and still wanted godfather and his cousin." Harry said, he then had to go into another explanation about Sirius and the corrupt legal system.

By the time his explanation was over the train was well underway and conversation turned to the upcoming year, Harry and Meredy had a general understanding of how things worked, but they got the clarification from the others.

"So since we'll both be fifth years, we'll be forced to take exams that require five years of preparation with one, and we'll have the normal classes with whatever houses we'll be sorted into plus the electives we choose?" Harry asked, looking the two over.

Neville was going to respond, but the door to the compartment was opened and a smirking Draco Malfoy and a pug faced girl met them.

"Potter, you're going to regret not accepting my friendship when we first met, things are changing and you've put yourself firmly on the wrong side." Draco told Harry, ignoring the hard glare from everyone in the compartment, even Luna looked upset, which was rare for her.

"It's not too late for you though girly, join the good side of life, I could show you a few things about Hogwarts." Draco said again, his gaze falling onto Meredy's assets, that was a line Harry wasn't going to let be crossed. He swiftly stood up and placed a sparking finger gun to Malfoy's forehead, effectively shutting him up before he could shove his foot further down his throat.

"If I ever hear you say anything like that to Meredy again, if you so much as look at her funny, I will blow whatever you call a brain from your overly dense skull." Harry growled, enjoying the fearful sweat pouring from the boy, if Harry had to guess he was working very hard to control his bowels.

"No get out of here before you get an injury that no one will be able to heal." Harry growled and shoved the greased ferret out of the doorway and slammed the door, his entire body sparking slightly.

It was clear the word spread that he was unstable and to be avoided as the only other person to join the group in the compartment was Hermione, complaining about both Weasley and Malfoy abusing prefect rights the whole way.

After everyone threw on their robes, the train arrived at the station and everyone got out. Meredy and Harry had both gotten letters saying they were to go with the first years and other transfer students by boat to reach the castle.

"First years, first years and transfer student this way." a stern looking young woman was calling, holding a lantern in one hand. Meredy and Harry went with her and boarded one of the small boats. While four first years fit in a boat, only two older students fit in each boat.

When everyone was in a boat, they departed over the glassy black lake. It was almost romantic for Harry and Meredy, if they weren't surrounded by 11 year olds and dreading the destination.

When they landed the stern woman led them to the front door of the castle and knocked once. The great doors opened and Professor McGonnagal met them.

"I'll take them from here, thank you Professor Grubbly-Plank." she said and led all the students into the entrance hall, stopping just before the doors of the Great Hall. Beyond these doors you will be sorted into one of the four houses, your house will be your family during your time here. Those of you who are transfer students will wait here for the first years to be sorted, and when that is done the doors will open again so you can be sorted." With that said, McGonagall led the troop of children into the great hall for their sorting, leaving Harry, Meredy, and five others who were transfers. They all made a point to stay away from Harry though, like they were afraid he would attack them.

About thirty minutes later, the doors opened and the seven transfers went through, approaching McGonagall and an ancient hat on a stool. McGonagall went through three names, two to Slytherin and one to Ravenclaw before it was Meredy's turn.

"Milkovich, Meredy."

Meredy slowly went up to the stool and the hat was placed on her head.

 _Tricky tricky, you are quite the interesting person Ms. Milkovich, you would do well no matter where I place you._

Meredy heard the voice in her head and it took a lot of self control not to jump in surprise.

 _I see, you've done some things you're not proud of, but you never were one of them. You have loyalty in spades, but with it being so narrowed, not Hufflepuff._

 _Slytherin would work, but you'd probably injure the majority of the house, and the current political climate isn't a good one._

' _If you put me with Weasley or Malfoy I will see if you can still feel pain in the most creative ways I know_ ' Meredy thought to the hat, who gave a chuckle in her mind.

 _I see, only one place for you then._.."RAVENCLAW!" the last word was announced out loud and Meredy took a seat next to Luna and near Hermione, who smiled at her brightly.

"Potter, Harry." and Harry was up next

 _Well now, I can see why you have Albus pulling his own hair out. Such power, with the fortitude, training and knowledge to keep it hidden, no need to worry, I never spill the secrets of anyone, part of my enchantment._

 _Now let's see, not Gryffindor, your actions are methodical and well planned, you don't act rashly and you have a long fuse. Slytherin would work well for you and I would put you there if I didn't already know you would destroy the house._

 _But let's see, I think the choice is obvious. Your desire to protect those close to you, combined with the morals from your fantastic guild show where you belong, you'll fit right in with..._

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The hall was quiet at first, absorbing the news, then the table in yellow exploded in cheering. Harry took the hat off and sat next too a red haired witch and a well groomed boy who had a pompous look on his face.

Harry ignored his table mates to look at the staff table. Professor Sprout looked pleased he was in her house and both McGonagall and Snape looked upset, probably for different reasons.

Still watching the staff, Harry noticed two empty seats, one he new was for Umbridge who was probably going to try and make a dramatic entrance. The other had to be DADA, who Harry hoped was good, it was probably the most important class.

When the last of the transfers were sorted Dumbledore stood up to make announcements.

"Welcome one and all. We have a few changes to our staff, first, as Professor Hagrid is enjoying a learning experience overseas, we would like to welcome Professor Grubbly-Plank to fill in for him while he is away. The stern woman who had led the boats stood briefly, raising her hand before sitting back down. Harry noticed applause from the Gryffindor table was muted compared to the other houses.

"Next, as new laws prevent him from teaching, Professor Binns has passed on to the next great adventure, so join me in welcoming Professor Umbridge!" A hideous pink toad marched in through the large double doors. She strutted down the center aisle, seeming to not notice the glares from most of the student population, Harry and Meredy among them, it took great effort for both of them not to project their killing intent. Dumbledore spoke again when she took her seat.

"And finally, as his group was unable to find passage home after being brought to our country accidently, welcome Professor Dreyar to teach Defense against the Dark Arts!"

Harry's jaw dropped as Laxus entered through a small back door, wearing simple jeans and a muscle shirt with his new purple fur lined cloak over his shoulders.

There was a smattering of applause, clearly the student body was weary, but willing to give him a chance. Harry on the other hand couldn't stop smiling. No matter how bad things got he had the two people he trusted more than anything by his side, Voldemort wouldn't stand a chance.

"Now onto further announcements, Quidditch.."

"Hem Hem."

Dumbledore was cut off mid sentence and Umbridge rose and walked to the podium. Dumbledore took this in stride and gave her room to speak, and shrunk the podium so she could be seen over it.

"Welcome everyone, it means so much to me to have all these smiling faces looking up at me." Her fake sugary voice grated on every nerve Harry had. His patience as he listened to Umbridge's speech. Just about all of the hall had glazed eyes, completely not paying attention, Harry did notice that the three girls at the Ravenclaw table and Neville were paying attention, although their faces showed they hated this woman as much as he did.

When she was done and had sat back down, Dumbledore simply flicked his wand and food appeared on the plates. That got everyone's attention.

"How was your summer Harry?" Justin Finch-Fletchley, who Harry knew from his rune classes the previous year and was the only Hufflepuff Harry knew, asked.

"Not bad, did you know that I'm raving mad now. The papers says so, so it must be true." Harry joked lightly, helping himself to some chicken.

"I get it Harry, most everyone in Hufflepuff is holding judgement until they got to know you though, we don't judge people before we get to know them, to form an unbiased opinion." He said, gesturing to the curious faces around them.

"I'll answer any questions you guys have back at the common room, right now I'm hungry." Harry said and continued to eat, taking the signal the conversation dissolved into more casual topics, like Quidditch and the new teachers.

"Laxus wouldn't have taken the job if he wasn't able to do a good job. You'll see, he'll be stict but fair to everyone, and while you may hate him, he'll teach you skill that will keep you alive." Harry assured his housemates. Probably the best news for Harry from the whole conversation was that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff usually shared lessons.

When the meal was over and the deserts cleared Dumbledore finished his announcements from before and sent the students off to bed.

"First Years this way!" the two fifth year Hufflepuff prefects called, Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan.

Harry followed at a distance, while the majority of Hufflepuff was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, the other houses kept giving him glares, believing him to be completely off his rocker.

Susan led the group to a large painting of barrels, "Watch carefully now, getting it wrong isn't fun, but we've all done it at least once." she said and pulled out her wand, tapping a specific pattern out on the barrels, and the painting swung open, revealing a downwards passage way into a well light room filled with large leather couches and loveseats.

"Rooms for guys and girls are down the left and right hallways respectively. In each hallway there are doors marking each room by year level. Your stuff will be waiting for you there." An older prefect said and everyone began to settle in, some beginning to make their way to their rooms.

Harry had taken a seat by the fireplace and almost half the house fell into couches alongside him, all looking at him with expectant faces.

"Ok, I know I've been called just about everything over the summer, so I'm here to answer any question you may have and then you can decide for yourselves, if you still think I'm crazy afterwards, then fine, I just want you to judge me for me." Harry said and the questions rolled in.

"Are you actually from a different world?" was the first from one of the older students.

"I'm from here originally, but from my understanding, got sent to Earthland, the world my friends are all from, because a third world called Edolas was messing with dimensional magic. The device that brought me to Earthland originally was destroyed in Edolas, so it can't be used again." Harry said, going off the information he had gotten from both Mystogan and Laxus.

"So, could we use the different kinds of magic you can?" one of the younger students asked and Harry took a moment to think.

"I think so, what in this world passes for accidental magic would be seen in Earthland for affinity readings. Each person can learn any kind of magic, but have a talent for a specific kind. My talent is lightning magic, although I have learned other kinds. Magic is further split into two types, holder and caster. Holder is what everyone here uses, holder magic requires an object to channel magic, I've seen everything from keys to cards used in very different ways, holder mages can channel more magic than other mages at their power level, but if they lose their channel, they are helpless.

Caster mages channel magic from their bodies directly, but their body can only handle so much, so they have to train their bodies as well as their magic. I think if anyone from this world were to ditch the wand and tried to open their magic channels through their bodies, they would have problems, as no one I've met is in any kind of physical shape to handle their magic successfully." Harry explained as best he could, he could see doubters, but also many convinced faces.

"Is Voldemort actually back?" Susan Bones asked, her face grim serious. This was the question Harry had been waiting for.

"I can provide memories of the event if anyone has access to a pensive, but the short answer is yes, he used the tournament to kidnap me, used my blood in some ritual that I was unconscious during to bring himself back, then I broke free, fought him the best I could, but still only just managed to get away with my life because Meredy got me out of there." Harry said, meeting Susan's gaze with his own, letting his honesty shine through.

"I believe you." Was all she said and the whispers began. "You've got Hufflepuff on your side, and none of us will ever betray you, doesn't matter if everyone else thinks we're duffers, we know we're more than that." Ernie said, dead serious.

"Thanks everyone, it means a lot that you guys back me up, I can see why the hat put me here. It feels good not being surrounded by people who don't think I'm some kind of monster." Harry said, actually touched by the Hufflepuffs, it was like a home away from home, this world's version of Fairy Tail.

"Question of my own before bed, could I bring Meredy in here sometimes, I don't think us meeting elsewhere around the school will be well received, and the toad glared at me for most of the night." Harry asked to general laughter.

"Sure Harry, if she can be trusted to keep a secret." Susan said and everyone dispersed, going to their own rooms for the night until only Harry was left in the common room, staring softly at the dying fire. Harry was in for a long year and he knew it. But no matter what happened, he was going to get his family through it, he was going to get them home alive and he was going to destroy the man who killed his family, even if it was the last thing he did.

With those last thoughts to himself, Harry found his room, where an empty bed and his trunk were waiting for him, and Harry fell asleep, still in his new yellow and black trimmed robes.

The next morning found Harry happily eating breakfast at the Hufflepuff table, much less tension than the night before, it was clear that those who had asked questions of him had spread the word that he wasn't crazy, but the other houses still gave him looks. Luna, Hermione and Meredy had all say with him at the Hufflepuff table to avoid the glares of their own house mates, it was clear they weren't well received there.

Professor Sprout handed out the schedules with a grimace on her face, glancing down at the schedules every now and then.

Harry took his own and looked it over carefully, while the others had told him that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff usually had their classes together, now Harry saw the only class he would share with Meredy was the all house runes class and DADA, and that was probably at Laxus's insistence.

"Wow, that's new, we never have had so many classes with the Gryffindors, although that isn't that bad compared to potions with the Slytherins." Ernie commented as he looked over his own schedule.

That comment set off alarms in Harry's head as he glanced at the head table and saw Dumbledore's eyes twinkling merrily. This stunk of the old man's manipulations.

"Well we'll have runes together today, but after that you're stuck with Snape and then the toad, good luck." Meredy said, comparing her own schedule to Harry's own.

"Yeah, should be a real hoot, remind me to hit the toad with a rune prank, I think I remember an old rune lock Freed used, I just need to find a rune from here to match it with for entertaining results." Harry said as he finished his food, kissed Meredy quickly and the pair headed to runes.

The runes class was easy for Harry, but it did have useful points, Meredy was thoroughly challenged, but Harry helped her when she got stuck because she didn't have the basic rune alphabet memorized yet. After that was a break then lunch, which Harry picked at, dreading his afternoon.

"Good luck Harry, I'll see you at dinner Meredy said, hopping off her seat and making her way to charms.

If only Harry knew how bad his afternoon would be, he would have just gone with her.

 **I'm back! After three weeks of vacation, some of which I had time to write, all of it had no wifi, which meant posting was delayed. I'll be going over all of the chapters I wrote though because most of them turned out fairly crappy. Like, I have two more done for this story but the quality of writing turns to shit and I'm not going to post anything that bad.**

 **I would like to thank Hyperjade for pointing out to me where I fell into a few writer cliches. While I have never really liked Ron as a character, he had an abundance of problems from jealousy to complete lack of self confidence, along with a fuseless temper, I shouldn't have changed his character so much. I'll try to rectify that in a later chapter. I do hate Malfoy and Snape and will continue to bash them though.**

 **Umbridge will be playing a villain role for a while, and there will be a chunk on her back story, along with steps on how the group actually gets back to Earthland.**

 **I finally got the question about who Harry will be taking with him back to Earthland besides the original group, I'll let it be a surprise for now, but he will be bringing a few people.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	23. Chapter 23

**I don't own FT or HP**

Harry and the other Hufflepuffs made their way down into the dungeon at a solemn pace, despite the general friendliness shown my most of the house, no one could stand Snape and his complete and utter bias.

The class made it down to a large set of wooden doors in the dungeon and waited there, the Slytherins were already there, and their expressions made Harry uneasy.

"Hey Potter, how's your head feeling, not going to kill any of us are you, not planning psychotic episodes?" Malfoy asked mockingly, his twin gorillas chuckling heavily.

"Not presently no, but if you like I can send you my schedule." Harry offered in a deadpan voice, drawing snickers from the other Hufflepuffs.

"Your fat mouth is going to get you in some serious trouble Potter, he'll see to that." Malfoy spat and the doors swung open and the class entered, all under the watchful eye of Snape, who was in the back of the class, his cloak billowing like bat wings.

"I welcome you all back from your little summer vacation. As I am sure you are all aware, this year you have your OWLs, and I expect you all to score at least an acceptable, or suffer my...displeasure." Snape's voice was soft, but commanded absolute attention, Harry could tell this man was a very different one from the quick to anger one he had met at Grimmauld place, the question was, which was Snape's mask and which was the real man.

"On the brighter side, I only take those who truly accel at potions into my NEWT classes, so this will be goodbye for most of us. Today's assignment will be the Draught of Peace, the most frequent potion on the OWL. There are many places to make mistakes, so I hope that your skills haven't dwindled over the summer, for your sake." Snape said and flicked his wand at the board, revealing chalk instructions, and the class set to work.

Harry, sharing a table with Justin, set to work, being especially careful with each ingredient and it's preparation. He also noticed Snape's instructions involved sublines that could be easily missed, but Harry caught himself before he forgot to add hellborne syrup.

His potion was matching the light gray steam it was supposed too, the only other ones on the Hufflepuff side of the room to acheive that was Susan.

Harry realized he needed one last salamander tongue and turned his back to the potion for a second, but while his back was turned, Harry heard a soft splash of something landing in his caldron. Harry saw the sparks shooting from it and in a split second reaction, used his back to shield Justin from the resulting explosion.

Acid like potion and shards of his cauldron sprayed over Harry's back, making him grunt in pain, but since they were in a corner of the room, only he got hit.

"Well Potter, you clearly made a mistake, I don't remember fireworks being an ingredient." Snape's cold voice rang through the silent dungeon as he swept over to the remains of Harry's potion, carefully picking up a burnt twisted firework.

"That will be thirty points from Hufflepuff, now everyone get back to work." Snape said.

"But sir, Harry needs to go to the hospital wing, his back.." Susan started until Snape cut her off.

"He's the Triwizard champion, a little potions accident shouldn't bother him." Snape drawled, much to the delight of the Slytherins. "And since the only potion he had left is on his back, that will be a zero for the day." Snape added and used his wand to clear the remains of the potions and reformed Harry's cauldron..

Harry didn't say a word during the whole exchange, just rolled his shoulders lightly, feeling the damage to his back. He was sure the robes on his back were reduced to nothing and his skin was melted in several patches.

Harry calmly collected his bags and left the room, being careful not to further aggravate his back, ignoring the open laugher from Malfoy and his cronies. He would get them, but Snape was right, he'd gotten worse injuries from training fights, he'd be fine after a day or two of sleep.

Harry made his way to the hospital wing and collapsed face first in one of the bed, completely out cold.

It took almost a full day before Harry woke up again, a side effect of the potion he had been trying to make. And he was greeted with a week of detention from the toad. Apparently Ron Weasley had mouthed off to her for the whole lesson about Voldemort and then had blamed Harry for telling him. As a result Harry had gotten detention, lost another thirty points, while Weasley got of scot free.

Meredy and all of Hufflepuff had been furious, but McGonagall refused to act and Dumbledore refused to see them, Professors Sprout and Flitwick made sure the complaints were heard, but no action was taken. McGonagall wasn't going to throw one of her lions under the bus and Dumbledore was Dumbledore, bat shit crazy.

So it was wrapped in bandages that Harry went to breakfast on Wednesday after the Monday potions incident. Merdy was the first one to him as he entered the great hall, she was quite upset with the situation and that she hadn't been allowed to visit. Harry could see Laxus glaring at Snape and the man shrank slightly in his chair. Harry was quite sure another incident like this one wouldn't occur.

"You're all right Harry, right?" Meredy asked as the two sat at the Hufflepuff table and began eating.

"Bluenote hit a lot harder than that potion, I'll get Malfoy back when his dad winds up being thrown in jail for being a Death Eater." Harry said quietly so he wouldn't be overheard as he ate some scrambled eggs.

"Fine, but we have Laxus's class later today, are you sure you'll be fine, we both know he'll push the two of us harder than anyone else?" Meredy asked and Harry nodded.

"I've trained with Laxus for years, he knows how far I can go in this condition." Harry said as they finished their meal and headed to DADA together.

"Ok, I inherited a mess in regards to this class." Laxus started his speech to the class, commanding attention better than Snape did. "And the first thing I want to say is this. I don't care what the political situation is, what rumors you believe, blood status, any of that, that all drops when you walk through my door. What I'm here to teach is how to keep yourself alive, against anything that wants to kill you, be it a werewolf or a dark wizard, or whatever." Laxus said, throwing his cloak from his shoulders and onto his desk.

"First question, what is the first thing to do when confronted by an opponent who wants to kill you and can't be reasoned with?" Laxus asked, watching the class carefully. Hermione raised her hand, as did Meredy and Harry. Laxus just pointed at Hermione.

"Alert the proper authorities." Hermione said, but she sounded unsure of her answer.

"While that may be useful to others in the long run, it won't get you out of there alive, Meredy?" Laxus shifted the question.

"Get the hell out of there, cause a distraction and run." she answered and Laxus nodded.

"Correct, ten points. Always try to escape, using whatever means you can, your life's most important, but if you can't run, you're hurt or have something to protect, then you have to stand and fight, so as long as you keep in mind running should always be the first option, and one that you need to keep in mind as you fight unless you are absolutely certain you can win." Laxus said and drew his wand.

"Going by that thought process, the most important skill to have is to avoid the spells from your opponent. Turn to page 15 in your books to read about the shield charm and when you feel ready, step on up. If you can survive a minute against me using only stinging spells without being hit, you move onto the next lesson." Laxus said, eyeing Harry, his eyes telling Harry to rest and try the next lesson.

"In this class everyone goes at their own pace, and you will only go as far as you are able, if you are lazy, you will die in the real world." Laxus said and waited in the front of the room for those who wanted to try.

Hermione was the first one up and Laxus nodded to her and set a timer on his wand and jumped into sending a barrage of stinging spells at Hermione, who was completely unprepared. The whole class watched as Hermione managed to throw up the shield charm in time with a call of protego, but Laxus's first spell shattered the shield and the other three slammed into Hermione.

"Tanking hits is only good if you can power your sheild enough. You were also unprepared, look in the back of the book about spell efficiency to get a more powerful shield and try again next class." Laxus told her and waited for the next person to come up, but it was clear everyone was intimidated by him.

Near the end of class, Meredy went up and Laxus immediately began shooting a barrage of spells at her silently, much more than he had Hermione, but Meredy was more than prepared. She weaved in and out of the spells with dancer like grace and only shielded herself with a soft mutter when she absolutely had to, knowing she wouldn't be able to overpower Laxus.

She managed the full minute and Laxus ceased his assault.

"That's what I like to see. Preserving magic by avoiding strikes and shielding only when necessary, well done Meredy, page 7 disarming spells for next class for you, everyone else, read up and practice, everyone needs to try by the end of next class." Laxus said and dismissed the class.

That night Harry went alone to Umbridge's office. The inside was just as wretchedly pink as the woman. The walls were had a horrible bright pink and white striped wallpaper. There were small potted plants in each corner of the room and on the wall behind Umbridge's desk were dozens of plates, each with a moving kitten on them. Umbridge herself was sitting in a high backed chair behind her desk, a piece of parchment and a black quill sitting opposite her on her desk, waiting for him.

"You will be writing lines for your detention Mr. Potter, I won't have you spreading nasty lies about things you don't understand. So I will say this once. You did not travel from an alternate world, the Dark Lord is not back from the dead, and most of all you are not above the Ministry." Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice, her eyes bulging at her last proclamation.

"It is nice to meet you too Professor Umbridge." Harry said calmly. This was a shallow and power obsessed woman who would do anything to have her way, but while she may have had political power, Harry could feel her magic was weak.

"You will be writing 'I must not tell lies' with the provided tools." Umbridge said, gesturing to the parchment and quill.

Harry could tell that dark magic was embodied in the quill, but he wasn't going to let Umbridge look down on him. Without further prompting, Harry set his bag down and began to write. He felt the back of his hand sting as the lines he wrote came out in crimson. He was writing in his own blood, and the sick twisted smile Umbridge's face made it all the worse.

After almost an hour and a half, Umbridge told him to stop and examined his hand, which was quickly healing because of his slayer magic, a small cut, not matter how many times it was applied, was nothing to his healing factor, however minor it was, that he was leaching magic from the quill was another benefit.

"Tut tut, it would seem the message hasn't sunk in enough, I'll see you tomorrow night then Potter." Umbridge said, moving to grab the parchment covered in his blood, but Harry had learned the hard way the power in blood. A flick of his wand and a silent incendio spell and the whole parchment was burnt to nothingness in front of Umbridge's eyes.

"Good night professor." Harry said calmly as he lifted his bag and left while Umbridge was still in shock.

The rest of the week was a similar pattern for Harry, go to class, do homework, torture with Umbridge, all while having spiteful rumors spread about him, but Harry didn't really mind all that much. He had Meredy and Laxus was supporting him from within the staff. Neville, Luna, and Hermione were all on his side and the twins had slipped Umbridge a potion that gave her more warts than an actual toad.

If anything Harry felt sorry for the idiots who followed the different factions in this world. All it showed was complete and utter laziness by the whole population, everyone happy to follow, helpless sheep being herded to the butcher's block.

So when Harry finally had Umbridge's class, he was unsurprised at the amount of bias directed against him, from both the teacher and the Gryffindors that shared the class.

"Goodmorning class." Umbridge said in her ever so repulsive voice, Harry was half convinced she was sent to Hogwarts so people at the ministry wouldn't have to deal with her.

"Goodmorning Professor Umbridge." everyone responded in a dull monotone.

"Last time we went over the course work before we were so rudely interrupted." Umbridge glared at Harry, who noticed the cross look on Weasley's face.

"But we never got to take the practice exam to test your current knowledge of our history. I will be handing out the pages and will grade them upon everyone's completion. That way I will know what knowledge needs to be imparted unto you to pass your OWLs." Umbridge said and flicked her wand, levitating and distributing sheets of paper among the students.

Harry knew just about none of the answers, guessing for most everything. He had missed the first four years of this class and hadn't grown up in this world. Harry did have fun with the last question though.

'Who is the most powerful dark wizard in recorded British history?'

While most people would probably put Voldemort or maybe Grindelwald, Harry put Zeref down as he apparently had been here before, if Ollivander was to be believed.

Once everyone had finished, Umbridge flicked through the tests and gave a tut.

"This simply will not do. Most of the class got under 30%. Clearly the Ministry was correct to step in for this subject. Only one of you knew the darkest wizard in our history was Dark Lord Zeref a little over four hundred years ago." Harry heard her and had to visibly restrain a reaction, as Umbridge was staring right at him.

"So we will begin with the history of the Ministry of Magic and how it has upheld society since its foundation." and there went anything interesting. The rest of the lesson, and Harry presumed every lesson in the future, was directed towards the Ministry seeing a bad situation, stopping it, then slapping a mass ban on the involved elements.

And so life at Hogwarts continued, Umbridge giving Harry as many detentions that she could, usually because Weasley, and now Malfoy who had caught on, mouthing off and blaming him. Snape too continued to treat Harry unfairly, but then again, potions hadn't been nearly as bad as the first, clearly Laxus had spoken to Snape, or Dumbledore, potentially both.

Halloween came, marking a full year stranded in the world of wand wizards and the day couldn't have gotten much worse for Harry.

The morning paper started the shit show, Umbridge was declared the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, meaning she had power to remove teachers from their posts if they were inefficient teachers. She made an announcement to everyone at breakfast that she would be monitoring classes to make sure each teacher was performing up to Ministry standards.

Harry groaned and continued with his day, and of course when Umbridge viewed his charms class, he got a detention for Weasley mouthing off about Voldemort. Flitwick tried to protest, but Umbridge glared at him harshly and began to write quickly on her sparkly pink kitten clipboard.

That night, Umbridge had a new detention planned for Harry.

"It has become clear to me these past two months that you still aren't learning your lesson." Umbridge started, pouring herself a cup of tea, her wand resting on the desk.

"The Minister understands that sometimes extreme measures must be taken to punish naughty children. Tonight is your only warning. Tomorrow, another educational decree will come into effect that will grant the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts complete control over punishments to students, I will decide how much is enough and how far is too far. This is your one opportunity to back away and support the Ministry or suffer the consequences." Despite the clear threat, Umbridge managed to say the whole thing with a cheery smile never leaving her face, although Harry imagined that was because she was going to be given free reign to torture as she pleased.

"I have yet to say a word against you or the Ministry. Dumbledore and others are the ones who speak, then point at me, regardless of if what they are saying is true. I have no quarrel with the Ministry. I don't want to be here at all, I simply wish to return to me home." Harry was working the calm emotionless exterior despite the fact his emotions were bubbling, raging within, this was a woman who deserved death, his magic was begging to be let loose and grant it to her, but Harry's willpower held the urges back.

"Leave Potter, and pray you don't have detention with me again." Umbridge said, her tone, for the first time since meeting her, cool and even, the voice of a practiced politician.

Harry left, and true to her word, the next morning she was given full exemption from the law to punish students as she chose.

 **Scene change**

Ultear dug through the ancient texts deep within the Ministry. It had been child's play to sneak in and access the records within the Department of Mysteries. She wandered through their projects first, noting the one dedicated to analysing the magic used by their group, and how to replicate it. This was why the Ministry didn't want them to leave, they wanted to bleed their magic dry to empower themselves. They were leeches.

She also found their research on dimensional transport, and it was quite obvious some of the books came from private collections and Hogwarts library. But Ultear wasn't overly interested in most of their work, there was a way home, and the key was Zeref. Meredy had linked her to Harry and they shared a tet e tet, comparing notes on the clues about Zeref in this world. Ultear had the wand that the first Ollivander had made for Zeref and Harry shared his theories, about the wand, once held for a certain amount of time, would add to the wizard's magic reserves before it was only useful to channel magic.

Ultear dug and dug in the records until she found it, the paper trail she had been looking for. The history of Zeref in this world.

 **And that's a wrap. More chapters will be coming, but school is starting and I had four classes of summer work to do, which ate a lot of my time. Next chapter will have plot development and backstories on the outlier characters, I'm trying to stay true to cannon for a lot of people, but some changes have been made.**

 **For the question I got about the timeline, Harry had just turned 14 during Tenrou, and he was 14 for all of the triwiz. He's fifteen now and will be 21 when tenrou comes back. Natsu and Lisanna are a few years older and Laxus and Ultear older than them.**

 **Happy reading -Centurion Africanus**


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't own FT or HP**

 **3rd person POV, following Harry**

Umbridge's rounds continued, and Harry wasn't surprised at all when she mostly showed up to classes with him in them. Both McGonagall and Snape had managed to score shots on the toad and get away with it, leaving Harry feeling particularly pleased, despite not liking either very much. Harry was grateful that Umbridge had backed off the absurd number of detentions she had been giving him, under the mask of pink lay a savvy and vicious politician.

It was when Umbridge came to DADA that the fireworks truly began to fly.

Laxus began his lesson like he always did, making sure each student knew what spell to prepare for the lesson, or what creature to read up on. All the while Umbridge stood in the back of the room, scribbling on her clipboard.

"Mr. Dreyar, what are your qualifications to teach this class?" she asked, interrupting Laxus as he was giving instructions to Harry and Meredy, who were furthest ahead in the class.

"I killed a demon the size of a mountain with only my apprentice as back up, he was 11 at the time." Laxus answered, drawing gaping looks from everyone in the room. Umbridge's eyes bulged at the thought.

"You misunderstand me, what were your OWL grades, your NEWTs, do you have a mastery?" Umbridge rattled off the questions and Laxus patiently waited for her to be done.

"I am a certified S-class magee, cleared in my guild for solo SS class quests, I rank above two of the lower wizard saints and know one of the three legendary spells of my guild." Laxus said, staring down Umbridge, lightning running through his eyes, daring Umbridge to call him out.

"I see, carry on then." Umbridge said, noting something on her clipboard.

So Laxus continued, and waited at the front of the room as the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students all read through their books. That cycle broke when Susan Bones walked up to the front of the room, her wand ready. Susan was one of the farthest along in the group, completing the shielding, disarming, restraining, and multiple attacker shielding, now she was learning the stunning spell, which should have been taught the previous year.

Laxus gave her a nod and quickly pointed his wand at one of the dummies hanging on one of the walls of the room. The dummy unhooked itself and readied itself in a pouncing stance, meant to replicate a werewolf.

"Remember Ms. Bones, you need to add more power to the spell to puncture the hide, and it will be a moving target coming at you, begin!" Laxus told her and with another flick of his wand, the dummy werewolf sprung at Susan, who sidestepped carefully, sending an incarcerous spell at the target, catching the dummy's legs in rope and making it fall. From there, Susan sent a barrage of stunners at the wolf until it went still. Susan lowered her wand, smiling brightly, so when the wolf sprung back up, she was completely unprepared.

The wolf lunged and it's fake claws halted an inch from Susan's face.

"Werewolves are known to play dead if they manage to hold some intelligence through their transformation, stunners were good though, remember to hit vital points with stunners, they have more effect that way." Laxus told her and susan nodded before sitting down and pulling her book out again.

"What was that Mr. Dreyar, it looked to me like you were attacking a student." Umbridge said, her bow shaking on her head.

"I'm teaching, the best way to survive against something that wants to kill you is to face it in a safe environment. I know you can appreciate what I'm teaching, after all, you have pushed so many anti werewolf laws, I thought you would enjoy seeing the aurors of tomorrow learning how to handle them." Laxus shot back, leaving Umbridge without a comeback. The rest of the lesson was the same, Laxus teaching as normal, and Umbridge failing to get anything against him.

Umbridge left at the end of the class, practically steaming, Laxus had put her in her place, and he had done it well.

That night, Umbridge posted on the doors to the great hall that Professors Trelawney, Flitwick, and Dreyar were all on probation. Laxus laughed when he saw the list, and Flitwick was visibly angry at the toad, shooting her glares when she wasn't looking.

And so November continued with high tensions running through the castle, come December, Hagrid returned from wherever he had been, and he quickly found himself on the probation list.

Another thing December brought was the room of requirement. Luna had stumbled into it when wandering one day and she had shown Hermione, Neville, Harry and Meredy. The latter two quickly began using it as a training room, much to the amazement of the other three, who had never seen two Earthland wizards going at it, Harry was careful not to use his slayer magic though, meaning Meredy usually won.

"Why can't Hogwarts teach magic like this, it's not as diverse as wand magic, but it seems so much more like actual magic." Hermione complained as she watched Harry zip around Meredy in his lightning form.

"You know, Harry did learn how to use Earthland magic, maybe we could teach you three too." Meredy suggested.

"Could we, I mean, are you allowed to?" Neville asked, trying to follow Harry's motions as he zipped around.

"Yeah, we could, we shouldn't get Laxus involved though, he's already on probation, don't want him in anymore trouble than he already is in." Harry said, landing softly and letting the electricity around him fade away.

And so, Meredy and Harry began the long process of teaching the three how to use Earthland magic.

Christmas break came quickly, although Hermione Neville and Luna made no significant progress towards learning Earthland magic, but they had managed to reach directly into their magical cores, the only problem was years of wand magic had opened the magical pathways in the body only to one arm, and even that was much smaller than the average Earthland wizard.

The group of five went home for the break, Meredy and Harry going with Neville where Ultear, Natsu and Lisanna met them, and they had almost found a way home.

Ultear explained she had broken into the Department of Mysteries and gone through their research on the subject, and added it with her own findings on Zeref and how he was the only documented dimensional traveler.

Zeref had shown up one day in the Ministry and when questioned, he just walked away. He had bought a wand from Ollivanders, then returned to the Ministry and killed everyone in the entire building with a single spell.

From there, he wandered the country, no one surviving once they saw him. According to the Ministry files, the only person to survive was a man named Martin Gaunt, who later went on to create the killing curse before going insane.

Zeref finally left, leaving behind an archway that once someone went through, they would never return, it was therefore called the Veil of Death. Ultear had also found records of Zeref being involved in the making of the Goblet of Fire and three other artifacts.

Luna's father pointed them to the Deathly Hallows. Ultear had the wand, they still had to find the stone and cloak, as well as the Goblet, which Harry had a sneaking suspicion he knew where Dumbledore had hidden it. Once they had collected the artifacts, Ultear wanted to go down to the veil and see if they could turn it into a portal back to Earthland.

Christmas morning gave Harry the best Christmas gift he had probably ever received, a cloak of invisibility that had once belonged to his father. The note was signed with a pawprint and Harry chuckled, knowing it was from his godfather. Ultear took one look at the cloak and knew what it was, Zeref's cloak.

Harry had dragged Natsu to Ollivanders to get him a wand. Harry was correct in which one would be for Natsu from the vault, Dogwood burned for three days in the Amaterasu flame from japan and powered scale from a pure fire dragon, which were literally made of flames and only became solid when finding a mate, as a core. Natsu very thrilled and proceeded to light Ollivander's shop on fire accidentally in his excitement.

Harry had also bought the wands that felt like Freed and Makarov, for when they got back to Fairy Tail.

So the return to Hogwarts was marked with high spirits for the Earthland group, and another two Educational decrees to meet them at the door.

 _'The High Inquisitor may choose certain outstanding students to aid them in apprehending trouble makers, those chosen will also receive special privileges.'_

 _'Students not a part of the Inquisitorial Squad are not allowed to perform magic under any circumstances, except during exams.'_

Malfoy and his cronies were seen strutting around the school with shiny badges that read IS on their chest. The only people chosen were those who supported a certain political agenda, so only bigoted pure bloods.

Within three days, the only house with any points left with Slytherin, and they had over 1000. That wasn't all though, the Inquisitorial Squad would attack students in the hallways with magic and when caught said they were apprehending trouble makers. Harry had to avoid two or three attacks a day.

But Harry soldiered on, idiots like Malfoy and Umbridge weren't worth getting in trouble. He had to think of more than himself, he had to think about Hermione, Neville and Luna, none of whom could take the level of punishment he could. And Harry would never let his actions bring harm to Meredy, he would rather let himself get hit with another cruciatus from Voldemort. Harry had people he cared about more than anything in the world, even all his years at Fairy Tail hadn't given him that.

 **3rd person POV, following Meredy**

Meredy was growing concerned for Harry. He was putting up with crap from everyone and was struggling to try and protect everyone he cared about. Harry was suffering, even though he wasn't letting it show, Meredy had known him long enough to tell. He was going to explode, it might not be for weeks or days, but he was going to cut loose and people were going to wind up dead because of it, Meredy only hoped Harry would make it through whatever came next.

 **3rd person POV, following Voldemort**

Tom Riddle, who would torture anyone who called him that, sat upon his throne in the Malfoy ballroom and pondered. It had been laughably easy to disguise himself as an unspeakable to get the the prophecy, a power he knows not, well perhaps at one point, but now Potter had tipped his hand, and he had developed a plan.

Dumbledore was blinded by his need for control, Snape reported to him that he was completely consumed by trying to get the Potter boy under his thumb and preventing him from getting the prophecy. The once great wizard was clearly going senile, and Voldemort was happy to let him self destruct.

The Potter boy was another story, not only was he powerful enough to almost beat him while he had the aid of almost 20 Deatheaters and of that only Lucius survived. He had quickly gone to Azkaban and quietly freed his most loyal forces, leaving insane muggles with glamour charms in their place, neither Fudge and Dumbledore suspected a thing.

He had been recruiting overseas as well, draining the old money from his foolish followers, he now had almost 90% of European hit wizards under him, the one downside being he wasn't allowed to crucio them.

Rookwood had almost completed his ultimate weapon, and when it was done, Voldemort would strike at the Potter boy when he least expected it, lead him into a trap. Snape told him the boy was trying to flee, to return to the 'other world' he claimed to be from. But Voldemort wouldn't allow that, he needed to prove that the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was nothing more than a child who got lucky.

Yes, Voldemort thought to himself, rubbing his thumb over the black stone ring upon his ring hand, yes the boy would die, but the question now was how to spring the trap, perhaps he should do something about the thief that kept frequenting the Department of Mysteries.

 **Holy Crap, being concussed is really no fun. Took a bad hit while playing football and I wasn't allowed to see bright lights for two weeks, not allowed to do any physical activity for longer, just sit in a dark room, it was freaking terrible. It hurt to think, migraine every time.**

 **But now I'm back, but posts will a bit slower while I'm in season, while is until about mid Octoberish. I know I've been floundering a little on the Zeref bit of the story and it seems forced, but I promise it will make sense eventually, really.**

 **Looking forward to more reviews, despite one random guest spamming that I'm trash it's been great.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't own FT or HP**

 **3rd person POV, following Harry**

As Umbridge's tyranny through Hogwarts continued unimpeded, Harry found solace in the sessions in the Room of Requirement with Luna, Neville, Hermione, and Meredy.

Neville had been the first to free his magic, soon followed by Luna, both were now working with Meredy to try and develop a magic that for them. Harry continued to work with Hermione to free her own magic.

"This is impossible, I don't think I'll ever be able to get a hang of this." Hermione complained near the end of yet another session she failed to access her magical core directly.

"I could did it, Neville did it, Luna did it, and so can you Hermione, from what I can tell, you just have slightly smaller reserves than them due to you not growing up in a magic rich environment." Harry tried to assure her and Hermione took a deep breath.

"Ok, one more try Hermione, dig deep and let loose as much magic as you can, you can do this." Harry told her gently as Hermione took a meditative pose one more time and took a deep breath. Hermione pictured a well in her mind, she focused on the water within and tried to pull it up like a geyser.

Hermione was determined, this time she would do it, this time she would do it. She felt her mind latch onto her magic and she pulled, the water in the well shot up with more ferocity than before, it was rising, rising. And it exploded out of the well, outside of her mind, Hermione let off a pulse of pure magic and Harry smiled widely.

"Well done Hermione, well done." Harry told her, Hermione looking up tiredly, matching his wide smile. "That's enough for today Hermione, reaching your magic for the first time can be exhausting, tomorrow we'll start developing a style for you." Harry told her and Hermione gave a tired nod.

The next night the real fun began as the three wizards became mages. Neville and Luna both played to their strength, Herbology and strange creatures respectively. Harry worked with Neville and taught him the basics of maker magic, forming an exotic plant make magic with the various strange plants of the wizarding world.

Meredy helped Luna and Hermione, teaching Luna what she knew about Rustyrose's Arc of Embodiment, and the two of them formed a new magic for the quirky girl, Imagine make magic. Luna could make any strange creature and thing she could imagine, but under the stipulation that it wasn't actually real.

Hermione took to barrier like a fish to water. Meredy told her about the shielding system that the Grimoire Heart's airship had had, and Hermione, in all her brilliance, managed to recreate a personal sized version of the spell and was working with Meredy on adapting the spell to have offensive functions.

Of course, developing magic meant sparring, and Harry and Meredy were harsh teachers.

"Ok you three, one last spar, all three of you in a free-for-all." Harry told his three students, eyeing them carefully. "Meredy and I will make sure nothing goes too far, but we still want you to cut loose." Harry told them and Luna, Neville, and Hermione took up a triangle formation, facing each other down.

"Plant make-Venomous Tentacula!" Neville called, striking up the traditional maker stance, two venus flytrap like heads formed rooted into the ground in front of Neville, forming a defense from the two witches across from him. Both heads shot from their bases towards the witches, but they were both more than ready.

"Fire Barrier"

"Imagine make-blibbering humdingers"

Hermione's barrier not only blocked the charging plantlife, but also burned the plant head, forcing neville to draw back the burned stump to restore the plant.

Luna on the other hand was more aggressive. The blibbering humdingers were multiple orange and purple fairy like creatures with four glossy wings, powerful sharp claws and teeth and a vicious attitude, Luna could summon a swarm of them of just a few as she needed.

The humdingers grabbed the head of the tentacula and flew upwards quickly, uprooting the plant and flying it over and dropping it on Hermione, who was forced to use another fire barrier, giving Luna a chance to strike.

"Imagine make-Crumple Horned Snorkack!" arguably Luna's most vicious spell. The Snorkack was a rhino like creature, with a large smashed in looking horn like a unicorn's and armor over its body. It was shaped like a dog, the size of a horse, and could run fast enough to break through most defenses, meaning that both Hermione and Neville, who both favored standing and weathering blows, and then dishing them right back were at a disadvantage.

"Plant make-Devil's Snare" Neville called off, vines shooting out of the ground him at both the Snorkacks and Luna, binding the creature and crushing it, but Luna herself danced out of the range of the vines and shot off several more snorkacks at both Hermione and Neville.

Neville continued with his devil's snare and held fast against the and created several leaping toadstools to leap at Hermione before they exploded in a noxious gas.

Hermione struggled under the dual faceted assault and continued to put up barriers and fire barriers, but was quickly running out of power. Neville and Luna both knew she had less magic than them, but could come up with genius plans on the fly, as she was about to do.

"Reflection barrier" Hermione created a mirror like barrier facing the ever moving Luna who was still dancing around avoiding Neville's constant vine attacks.

The barrier made contact with the incoming snorkacks and Hermione angeled the barrier so the snorkacks were aimed at Neville and were now coming at him from two angles and he was struggling to defend himself, even with his tentacula back in action.

"Plant make-mandrake!" Neville called and lobbed the little howling baby plant at Luna, who jumped in surprise when the shrieking plant landed next to her.

That moment of shock was all the mandrake needed to do its job and Luna fell unconscious from the sound, meaning the stream of snorkacks ceased and Neville began his assault on Hermione with his vines and revived tentacula. Hermione had used too much of her remaining magic reflecting the snorkacks and eventually got caught in Neville's vines, holding her fast.

"Win Neville." Harry called, shooting a quick bolt to fry the mandrake, and Meredy went to shake Luna awake.

Once Luna was up again Harry and Meredy went over how everyone did.

"Hermione, good planning as usual, but the most offense you did was redirecting one of Luna's attacks, you need some offensive attacks. Opposite for you Luna, your offense is powerful, but you let Neville surprise you, meaning you couldn't redirect like you like to and you have no natural defense. Neville, you did good, balanced between offense and defense, but you need to be more mobile, try looking into field traps to drop around to catch people off guard, the tank strategy won't work against anyone stranger than you, and I will let you spar with Natsu to prove that point." Meredy said, addressing each of them with a sharp look.

Neville shuddered, he had seen Natsu spar with Harry during the Christmas break and that was not someone he wanted to face especially since all his plants were flammable, that was another problem to address.

"You guys are all doing great though, you'd all be B-rank mages back in Earthland, low B, but still B, which is really good for only using this kind of magic for less than a year." Harry told the three exhausted mages, who grinned before the five made their way from the room and snuck back to their commons rooms.

 **3rd Person POV shift-Time skip-May**

Voldemort held the syringe that Rookwood had presented him carefully. This was the result of months of research by the best and brightest from the Department of Mysteries. Raw compressed magic, harvested from the death veil coded to blood Voldemort had given to Rookwood to swap out with the other blood sample the department had. All the research pointed to a complete success, but there had been no test subjects that survived the process. But Voldemort had confidence in his Horcruxes.

Voldemort sent Rookwood away, the process would most likely be painful and that was not something he wanted his followers to see, he was an image for those weak minded fools, ruining that was not something he wanted. The appearance of strength was just as important as strength itself, it was why Dumbledore remained in power for as long as he had.

Voldemort carefully placed the needle to the inside of his arm and sent the magic energy into his system. At first it felt like was entering his veins, spreading throughout his body. When the cold feeling reached his heart, it turned to fire. Voldemort withheld a scream of pain as he felt waves of fire flow through his bloodstream, taking the godslayer base that was present it Voldemort's bloodstream already and mutating it to something more, something darker.

Voldemort lay on the ground for nearly an hour before the pain subsided and he could stand again. Voldemort could feel the power flowing through him as he looked at his wand carefully. It had always filled him with a rush of power, but now it felt dead, like it was taking power from him instead of giving it to him.

Voldemort cast the wand aside, and flexed his fingers carefully, he could feel the darkness from the veil, could feel the energy the Potter boy let off like candy while he was dueling. The feeling was intoxicating.

Carefully, Voldemort released power from his hand and it became cloaked in a shadowy black aura, flickering like a flame, but freezing like a shadow, the lights in the room seemed to dim when the magic formed.

"Yes, this will do perfectly, and I know just who to test this on." Voldemort said as he felt the wards he had Rookwood place in the Department of Mysteries go off signalling the little intruder, and if Voldemort was a betting man, he would bet it was one of Potter's little group of magically gifted. A perfect test run indeed.

 **3rd person POV shift**

Ultear slipped quietly through the Department of Mysteries, it had been months since she first infiltrated and she had yet to see an increase in defenses, despite the obvious meddling she was doing. The wizards here were truly a stupid people with few exceptions.

Ultear snuck to the testing of advanced magical powers room as the department head called it, they had finished the previous night and were planning on a human test subject the next day, Ultear decided to throw a wrench in their plans.

She snuck to where the syringe was supposed to be kept except it was missing. Ultear tore through the whole work station but found nothing.

"Looking for this, I'm afraid to say you're just a little late." A cold voice said behind Ultear, throwing an empty syringe at her feet.

Ultear spun around and saw a man who could only be Voldemort. He was bald, pale and had no nose, just like Harry said. The only difference was his eyes, they were a pitch black instead of a bloody red.

"Shame, I don't suppose you just dumped it down a sink did you?" Ultear asked, sending a distress signal through Meredy's link.

"What a waste it would have been if I had, that single vial more than tripled my strength. It made my wand obsolete, it gave me power." Voldemort boasted as he stared down Ultear.

"From my own studies, wands temporarily boost your magical core before you become reliant on them, turning them into a crutch. "Ultear said, readying her maker magic, Zeref's wand tucked away in her pocket.

"That is interesting, I shall have to implement that in my new regime when I rule this country, but for now, let's see what party trick you have." Voldemort finished with a sneer and raised his hand, a wave of dark energy unlike anything Ultear had ever felt tore across the room. Ultear tried to negate it with her Arc of Time, but found it unaffected, only just managing to roll out of the way when that failed.

"Well, that's certainly new." Ultear said and quickly increased the pulses to Meredy, she doubted this would be a fight she could win alone, not if her time magic had no effect on Voldemort.

"Yes it is indeed, and now you fall." Voldemort shot forward, his arms cloaked in dark energy as he struck, his fighting form was basic, but when Ultear made to block a strike with an ice covered arm, the shadows devoured the magic from her ice and it fell apart uselessly.

"Well, that's interesting." Ultear said, sending a few ice spears at Voldemort to confirm her theory. Voldemort simply flicked his wrist and blocked the assault with a shield of darkness, the spears flying into it like it wasn't there, but never coming out the other side.

Voldemort could basically create a black hole for magic, wonderful. It reminded Ultear of Harry's theory on the killing curse. Zeref had influenced the creation of the spell and from what she had seen from the notes left by the department workers, they made use of the veil, another creation of Zeref to power their magic enhancement experiments.

Connecting that to Harry's theory, the veil was an unstable portal between worlds. It had once held the power to transport to Earthland, but had lost power when Zeref left and wasn't powering it anymore. The killing curse took large amounts of magic from both the caster and killed the target, but if the caster didn't have enough, the magic of the target would be sent to the veil, powering it. The goblet had since drained what power the veil had built up to get them here, meaning they could get home, they just needed the goblet to target their world, of course, there was a much more pressing problem at the moment.

Ultear flipped backwards and threw a handful of seeds at the charging Voldemort, charging them with her Arc of Time, and the seeds grew extremely fast, effectively shooting full grown trees at Voldemort.

Voldemort twisted in place and vanished with a soft crack, reappearing behind Ultear and sending crescent arcs of his veil magic at her. It was only a reflexive shield, held together by time magic that saved Ultear from taking the hit.

"You'll have to try harder than that to hit me pants snake, Fast Forward!" Ultear called and a wave of her crystal orbs shot forward. Voldemort simply popped away again, but the orbs redirected and when he reappeared, he was blasted back, several of his ribs breaking on impact.

Ultear gave a viscous as the Dark Lord lay in a crumpled heap, while he was powerful, he clearly had no experience with his new skills, leaving him defenseless to her when she started using actual spells. As Ultear turned to leave, she missed Voldemort's head rising, his eyes glowing black and shooting lasers at her.

Ultear gave a shriek of pain and went flying across the room as she was struck in the back. Ultear felt her magic rapidly leaving her as she got up slowly and faced Voldemort, who was rising slowly.

"It seems you too have fallen before me. I think it's time to shed the secrecy." Voldemort gloated and pressed his finger to his left forearm. Ultear tried to stop him but she felt sluggish, her magic was being drained away, she could feel it, and if it left completely, she was dead. Ultear took a deep breath and muttered under her breathe.

"Freeze." And with that, Ultear turned completely to stone.

 **And scene, the end of the fifth year approaches and with it, the end of the time spent in the Harry Potter world. I have plans for GMG arc, but I think that will be the end of the story after that, not sure though, might go all the way through Alvarez.**

 **So I know I will get some flak for having Ultear loose, Voldemort basically had a counter for her maker magic and time magic. While he was inexperienced with it, being so used to wand magic, he used Ultear's over confidence to land a game ending hit. I also needed a reason for Harry to go to the Ministry, and this was it.**

 **Review, follow and fav, i love seeing my inbox full of these things after each chapter, the support means so much.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	26. Chapter 26

**I don't own FT or HP**

It was during the History of Magic OWL that Meredy felt her link to Ultear begin to burn and thrum, declaring her in danger. Meredy knew Ultear had been making trips to the Department of Mysteries, but nothing had gone wrong before, clearly Ultear had gotten in over her head if she needed help now, even if she had been able to take out Dumbledore.

After the exam, the link had gone dead, meaning Ultear was either dead or unconscious.

"We have to go find her Harry!" Meredy insisted as they spoke in the Room of Requirement. Laxus was teaching a class and Hermione had dragged Neville and Luna off to revise more.

"I know Meredy, but we need a plan, we don't know what happened and walking in blind could get both of us killed. Ultear is an S class wizard and if she got taken out then there is something seriously dangerous there, we'll need backup." Harry said and Meredy nodded slowly, agreeing with Harry, but clearly not liking it.

"Laxus can come with us and we can message Lisanna and Natsu, we go together." Meredy insisted and Harry nodded.

"We have more backup than that Meredy, and did you forget the three we trained up here." Harry teased and Meredy grinned. While Neville, Luna, and Hermione were new to their brand of magic, they could easily handle a few wand wizards.

"Ok, so we get those three and Laxus, message Natsu and Lisanna to meet us at the Ministry, then we storm the place and get Ultear back." Meredy said, a determined look on her face.

"Exactly, but you do know that we may not like what we find." Harry asked, and Meredy's face fell.

"Ultear's survived much worse than anything this world can throw at her, she'll be fine." MEredy insisted, but Harry could see the doubt in her face.

"The sooner we get going, the better chance she has, you find Hermione, Luna and contact Lisanna and Natsu, I'll find Neville and Laxus." Harry said and kissed Meredy gently and the two went on their way.

Meredy quickly sent a message link to Lisanna, who quickly agreed to meet them at the phone booth Ultear used to sneak into the Ministry. One stop to the library found Hermione, Luna and Neville who all agreed to help instantly.

Harry found Laxus and told him to meet them in the entrance hall, and Harry made a quick stop in his room to pickup up a few tools like his invisibility cloak and a few other things. He also met with Fred and George in the halls.

The group of six met in the entrance hall, but were stopped at the door by a smirking Umbridge and her inquisitorial squad.

"What have we here, a teacher leading a group of students out of the school without my permission, tut tut." Umbridge's voice was sweet as ever, but everyone could here the poison behind her words, and the drawn wands pointed at them.

"A friend of ours is in trouble, I'm only going to say this once, step aside." Laxus said, his voice soft, but the authority in his tone left no doubt, if Umbridge didn't move herself, he'd do it for her.

"Threatening the High Inquisitor, that won't do at all Mr. Dreyar. I place you under arrest in the name of the Ministry."

"I guess you'll have to add resisting arrest to those charges then." Laxus said and slammed his fist into the ground. A wave of lightning shot forward, knocking Umbridge and her whole group backwards and through the doors which had been blasted off their hinges.

Laxus led the six through the smoking remains of the main doors and past the smoking unconscious bodies. Luna took extra pleasure in kicking every male member of the inquisitorial squad in their soft spot, making sure to kick Malfoy twice.

"So, how are we getting to London from here?" Laxus asked as Luna kicked Umbridge in the face, breaking her nose. Harry and Meredy both paused, not believing they had forgotten that crucial part of their plan.

"We can ride the thestrals." Luna said dreamily, having finished her kicking spree, then skipping off into the forest, leaving the other five to catch up to her. The thestrals looked like zombie leathery pegasi, but they were friendly enough, although Luna had to explain why Hermione and Neville couldn't see them.

The flight was faster than Harry thought it would be, but Meredy was anxious the whole time, tapping her fingers on Harry's chest as she rode behind him on a thestral.

When the thestrals landed, Lisanna and Natsu were waiting for them. Natsu was smiling widely, but Harry could see past that to how nervous he was for his family.

"Yo you guys ready to kick some ass!" Natsu with a grin and Harry smirked.

"You know it Natsu. None of us have been able to cut loose in a long while." Harry grinned.

The group crammed themselves into the tight phone booth and dialed the number into the receiver.

"Please state your name and purpose for entering the Ministry of Magic." a cool female voice came from the receiver. Natsu was all too thrilled to answer

"Natsu Dragneel, Lisanna Strauss, Harry Potter, Meredy Milkovich, Laxus Dreyar, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger to kick some bad guy ass!" he shouted into the receiver and eight badges popped out in a drawer at the bottom of the phone. Harry grinned at his, which read

Harry Potter

Ass kicker

After the group took their badges, the phone booth lowered itself into the ground and into the empty atrium of the Ministry. A golden fountain of magical creatures puffing water out at a steady pace.

"Ultear said the Department of Mysteries was on the lowest floor, through the door with a circular handle in the middle of it." Meredy said and the group made their way to the elevator, using flames from Natsu's raised hand to light the way. They only went one floor down into the cold stone halls and were quick to find the door with the center handle.

"Ok, we don't know what we'll find behind this door, but whatever it is, we go in fast, get Ultear, and get the hell out, we aren't here to fight unless we run into an army." Harry told the others, getting nods before he pushed open the door into a circular room with eight doors, not counting the one they came through.

"Ok, we split up, splitting up means we can find Ultear faster and get out faster. She'll be in whatever room that were experimenting with magic enhancements, and I'm willing to bet the room connect beyond this room, so if you don't find Ultear in your room, go clockwise to the next one until you do." Harry told the others, getting nervous nods and a grunt from Laxus, who looked grumpier than usual.

Each person lined up at a door and pulled them open at once, all of them opened at the same time except Meredy's, which was locked tight. Harry, whose door was next to Meredy's, noticed.

"Ultear mentioned the one room she could never get into, and if she couldn't open it, then there's no chance I can." Meredy said and followed Harry through his door, the two of them slipping on Harry's invisibility cloak.

Through their door, a long dark stone hallway led into a large room with a glowing archway upon a raised dais in the center. Near the edge of the dais was a statue, one that shot dread into both Meredy and Harry.

"Ultear!" Meredy shouted and sprinted off towards her, slipping out from under Harry's invisibility cloak, Harry was quick to follow her, but keeping his cloak securely fastened over his shoulders.

"I see you found your little friend." a cold harsh voice came from the back of the room, and stepping out from the shadows the glowing arch cast was Voldemort himself.

"This little wonder of magic besides me is called the veil of death, for no one has passed through and survived. But what the silly workers here have managed with it is harvesting stray energy that it gives off. For the longest time that energy had no purpose besides acting as a magical poison, but when your little group showed up, new possibilities bloomed." Voldemort began his speech to a shocked Meredy, Harry placing an invisible hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there, as well as using their communication link to outline a plan to her. Harry had developed a new appreciation for monologuing villains, they always gave him plenty of time to plan a way to beat them.

"Since the first task, the Ministry has been collecting the ambient magic your group seems to give off every time you use your brand of magic. They developed a drug that could enhance one's magic, but without a direction, it would simply make the subject explode. That was when my agent within the department gave them the idea to blend it with the magic from the veil. Potter had such power from what he called 'Death God magic', and I wanted that power for myself. Earlier this evening, the final serum was complete and it was stolen for me, and I have become more powerful than ever before." Both Harry and Meredy paled at the thought of Voldemort having power like Harry's, but they had a plan, Harry started by slipping Zeref's wand from Ultear's stone pocket. He also pulled a mirror from his pocket and sent a message. If he was right, they could find their way home that night, he just needed the last piece of the puzzle.

"I defeated your friend there, turned her stone as I drained the magic from her very soul. I have taken over the Ministry, but I knew Potter would lead his little friends down here to try and save this woman. In each room my loyal followers and creatures lay in wait to capture them, so I may drain their magic, I shall become the lone source of magic in this world, and you will be the first to fall before me." Voldemort finished his monologue and attacked Meredy with a blast of what looked like pure shadows from his hands.

 **POV switch**

Natsu slipped through his door quietly, despite his usual inclination to be loud. He knew when to be serious and when to run around causing random explosions. Losing so many of his friends on Tenrou island had been a wake up call to his serious side. He daily thanked any deity he could think of that he had gotten Lisanna off that island before it was destroyed.

Behind his door Natsu found a large room full of cubicles and several doors at the end off the hallway. Just his luck, Natsu had found the room of boring paperwork. Oh well, paper burns oh so easily and what a shame it would be if the Department lost everything in a blazing inferno.

"Well well, what have we here, the little pink haired brat that attacked my son, I was so hoping you would stumble into my room." a tall pale haired man spoke from a side of the room, a group of 50 masked wizards behind him. The hair was a dead giveaway to Natsu that he was looking at Draco Malfoy's father, the only survivor of Harry's fight with Voldemort in the Graveyard.

"Oh look, I found the older albino, you should really get some more sun, but don't worry, I can help you with that." Natsu shot back, his hand combusting as he shot forwards faster than Lucious could track, much less fire a spell at the dragon slayer.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled, giving Lucious an uppercut that jerked his head up fast enough to break his neck, killing him instantly.

"Well, that was disappointing, who's next?" Natsu asked the now cowering group of wizards, burying the guilt of killing someone.

Five minutes later Natsu was walking into the next room, leaving nothing but unconscious wizards and lots and lots of ashes.

 **POV switch**

Laxus stared in disbelief at the tank filled with what looked like brains. They were swimming slowly around in a light blue goo, how they were doing so was not a question Laxus wanted answered.

"Look boys, we get the big strong man, oh how nice." standing between Laxus and the door out was almost a hundred extremely pale and cloaked figures, their leader was the only one without a hood and Laxus could see his eyes were a blood red and his teeth were abnormally large. Vampires.

"Lord Voldemort will be most pleased with your capture…" he began to say when a lightning bolt struck him in the chest and reduced him to a pile of ashes.

"Phht, can't even take a hit, what a waste of my time." Laxus grumbled before turning into lightning and smashing his way through the vampires and through the next door, leaving none of the undead with all their limbs intact.

 **POV switch**

Lisanna knew she had the right room when she saw how destroyed the entire room was. Lab benches and tables were overturned and ice from Ultear's spells were covering parts of the room. But Ultear wasn't who Lisanna found.

"Lookee boys, fresh meat." a tall shaggy man said, licking his chops. Lisanna recognized him from past copies of the Daily Prophet, Fenrir Greyback. The most notorious and powerful werewolf in the world, and he had brought his entire pack.

"The Dark Lord wants you 'special' wizards alive, but he never said we couldn't have our fun breaking you first." Fenrir laughed and Lisanna shivered. She knew she wasn't the most powerful, but she wasn't about to let herself loose to a bunch of second rate wolfmen.

"And while tonight may not be a full moon, old Severus made potion to trigger the transformation any time we like, so bottoms up boys, we have a girl to play with." Fenrir said and downed a silver colored potion and his pack followed his lead.

Lisanna watched carefully as just under 60 men turned into ravenous wolves.

"Well, at least this will be a challenge now." Lisanna cracked, letting Natsu's confidence infect her.

"Take Over Magical soul-Erumpent!" Lisanna called and she shifted into a large armored creature with a glowing orange horn. While it wasn't the most mobile form like Lisanna used when fighting, she knew Werewolf claws and teeth couldn't puncture her hide and her new horn could easily take them down.

With a bark Fenrir Greyback sent his pack forward and Lisanna began her charge, making sure not to fully spear a werewolf on her horn, instead just skimming them, and seconds later that portion would explode due to the properties of an erumpent horn. Soon it was just Lisanna and Greyback left among bleeding out and dead wolves and if his growling was anything to go by, Greyback was not pleased with the decimation of his pack.

He leapt forwards at Lisanna, who barreled forward and speared the wolf on her horn through his stomach.

Before the horn could make him explode though, Lisanna absorbed him, destroying his conscious mind and giving herself a new takeover.

With that done, Lisanna transformed back into her original form and went around the werewolves slowly bleeding out and made her way to the next room, anxious to help her friends and prove herself, she still had her ace transformation she had been dieing to show off to Natsu.

 **POV shift**

Luna's focus was drawn away from the aging and deaging objects in the strange room she entered when she felt the air temperature rapidly drop. She could hear the initial explosion from her mother's workshop and could hear her mother telling her to run before the second explosion triggered. How strange that the very thing her mother had been working on improving was now neatly organized in a cupboard at one end of the room.

Luna turned to face the horde of dementors that had been hiding in the upper echelons of the room, waiting like great spiders for their prey. Luna didn't know how effective her magic would be, but she had to try, for her friends.

Tuning out the last words of her mother, Luna focused on her magic and began to attack the waves of cold and darkness.

"Imagine Make-Heliopaths!" cat sized lizard like creatures made of what appeared to be solid lava scampered along the floor in a circle around Luna in an effort to dispel the cold the dementors, and while it did help, it didn't make the voice of her mother fade.

"Imagine Make- Nargles!" the nargles were rat sized tailless furry creatures with wings like a dragon fly's. The nargles started dive bombing the dementors and made a general nuisance of themselves, taking random object from around the room and throwing them at the dementors, stalling them in their efforts.

Luna however failed to notice that the nargles had lifted the entirety of the time turners and thrown them. Time slowed before her eyes, no pun intended, as Luna watched the time turners shatter just like the one her mother had been working on that had killed her.

The resulting explosion from the entire stock of time turners exploding in a pink light. The dementors disintegrated as the light touches them, and when the light faded, all that was left were piles of black goo and a tall imposing female warrior with deep purple wings. She wore ice like armor and carried a rapier.

"You who have touched my realm once before, you who see and summon the creatures of my world, and have returned my wings to me. I give you my blessing, may you walk forth from this day as a champion of my magic. I dub thee, Luna Lovegood, chosen by Queen Mab and the first Fey slayer." a deep purple light filled Luna's eyes and she fainted, just barely noticing a strong pair of arms catching he and Neville's worried face looking down at her.

 **POV switch**

Neville wandered through the many shelves filled with glowing spheres. Of course he had been the one to get the largest room, but it was probably for the best as he looked at the many death eaters that had come at him from the shadows.

"Well well, little Longbottom, it looks like I do get to end your line tonight. I killed your Grandmother earlier, and now I get to complete the set." Bellatrix Lestrange's bubbly dark voice came from in front of Neville, her wand held loosely as she was flanked by her husband and brother in law.

"The Dark Lord said we were to take the special wizards alive, but there's nothing special about this one, do we just kill him?" Antonin Dolohov asked from behind Neville, completely disregarding any threat Neville might pose, his wand still in his pocket.

"I don't think the Dark Lord will mind if I do what I did to his parents to him, and if he is special, the Dark Lord still gets what he wants." Bellatrix said, a sick smile twisting on her face.

"Or, I make sure you never destroy another family while avenging my own." Neville growled, staring down the three people he hated most in the world.

"Bella would like to see you try." Bellatrix spat, her childish voice mocking him.

"Plant Make-leaping toadstools"

"Plant Make- Devil's Snare"

Neville's consecutive spells wrought havoc through the ranks of the Death Eaters. The knockout gas fueled Toadstools leapt forwards and sideways while the mass of Devil's Snare covered Neville's back. The Lestranges quickly used bubblehead charms to avoid the knockout gas, but the other Death Eaters were knocked out and thrown by the Devil's snare into the Rearguard lead by Dolohov, sending them through the many shelves of prophecies, setting off a domino effect. Shelves crashed all around and crushed the Death Eaters beneath them.

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix shouted, her action quickly copied by the other Lestranges, the only three Death Eaters left standing.

"Plant Make- Wiggentree!" Neville called as the gold glowing tree sprouted in front of him and Neville grinned as the spells neared him. Wiggentrees were commonly believed to repel evil because of the Bowtruckles that lived in them, but it was in fact the opposite. Neville had discovered that the Wiggentree naturally repelled all forms of dark magic, and he watched with glee as the killing curses struck the tree and bounced back at their casters.

Bellatrix's eyes widened in shock as she and her brothers were struck by their own rebounded spells and were blasted backwards, dead.

Neville took a moment to gloat in victory before hearing an explosion in the next room and sprinted through the destroyed room into the next one, finding Luna unharmed but unconscious. Neville lifted the petite blonde carefully and continued on.

 **POV switch**

Hermione wondered if fate existed as she started down a pair of giants being directed by Walden Macnair, a cruel man who had executed Buckbeak the hippogriff in front of a distraught Hagrid two years prior. Instead of a wand, he had his executioner's axe drawn as he balanced upon a replica of Neptune that floated near the giant's heads.

"A little girl, thats all I get, and a mudblood to boot, what a waste of my time." Macnair growled, spitting down at Hermione.

"Helium Barrier!" Hermione said, projecting the barrier underneath her feet, making her fly up to Macnair's level.

After Harry's recommendation to find more offensive barriers, Hermione had her parents send her advanced chemistry textbooks and found new and creative ways to make a barrier, and Harry was duly impressed during her next spar, in which she unleashed quite the combination on poor Neville and his plants.

"Thermite Barrier" Hermione called and projected a wall of red dust ten feet in front of her while Macnair laughed.

"Like some pretty powder will stop a giant, kill the mudblood." Macnair ordered and the pair of giants lumbered forwards, only to be blocked by the growing barrier. One giant raised his metal club and tried to smash down on the barrier, unknowingly sparking it, sending waves of burning thermite down on it, making it howl in agony before falling silent.

The other giant, enraged at his companion's death, roared at Hermione, who quickly projected a second thermite barrier inside it's mouth and sent a fire barrier to ignite it and the second giant fell in agony, unable to even scream, leaving a sufficiently terrified Macnair, now holding both his wand and axe.

"Your luck ends now mudblood." he spat and began casting a spell, but found himself trapped within a cube made of what looked like clay.

"Barrier make C-4" Hermione had said as Macnair was trapped and smirked as she knew his first reaction would be to cast a spell to get out.

Hermione lowered herself back down to the floor on her helium barrier, dispelling it as she landed, smiling as she heard the C-4 detonate. She may not be the most powerful, but her brilliance was worth far more. Hermione quickly opened the next door and continued on through the the Department of Mysteries.

 **Wow, that was fun to write. Not much action for Natsu and Laxus, but we all know they're badass, no need to have them show off again. Next chapter is the big fight against Voldemort and possibly the last chapter in the HP verse.**

 **Football season is over for me, so I should be able to update faster, but on the other hand, school work has started picking up so that might offset that. I love all the favorites and follows I've been getting and and thrilled to get more, they mean so much to me.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	27. Chapter 27

**I don't own HP and FT**

 **3rd POV, following Harry**

As Voldemort attacked Meredy, Harry leapt into action, letting his cloak flow our behind him as he leapt into action. He could feel the magic Voldemort let off, it was like the killing curse amplified by a thousand. If an Earthland mage could survive the curse before because they had much more magic than the curse could drain, this new magic would drain them dry, even mages with ridiculous amounts of magic like Natsu, Laxus, and Harry himself.

Meredy quickly leapt away from the blast, the opposite direction that Harry had jumped and the blast sailed between them, missing them completely.

"Maguilty Ray!"

"Death God's Bellow!"

They called, sending beams of thier magic at Voldemort, trapping him between their attacks, but with a flick of his hands, Voldemort raised two shadowy shields between himself and the magic blasts. His shield stopped Meredy's attack cleanly, but Harry's pushed him back, cracking the shield. Voldemort growled as he glared at his opponents.

"So you're here too Potter, that makes this all the more fun, watch as I put down your little bitch." Voldemort began sending waves of shadowy magic at Meredy, who struggled to dodge them, shielding when she couldn't avoid the blasts.

Harry leapt at Voldemort, nailing him in the ribs with a heavy punch, but he felt that the simple contact with the dark lord drained more magic than it should have, Voldemort had basically turned himself into a blackhole for magic, and while his slayer magic was more effective, it's effect was still lessened, and while he did drain some of Voldemort's strength, some of his own was also taken, Harry finally could understand how annoying it was to fight someone like himself.

Harry continued to keep Voldemort off Meredy, who could barely let off a spell with the way Voldemort was targeting her, determined to take the most important person in Harry's life from him, and it wasn't something he was going to allow.

"Death God's Scythe!" Harry called and got up close and personal with the dark lord, who forged a sword from his shadows to match Harry. The two slammed their dark magic weapons into one another as the danced around the veil of death, vaguely aware of the rest of the their group entering and watching as Harry fought Voldemort. They tried to help, but Harry was too close to Voldemort for anymore of their more powerful spells and their weaker spells were stopped by shields that responded reflexively to the magic cast at Voldemort and absorbed them.

Harry attacked Voldemort with everything he had, this was the man who had taken his parents from him, made him live with those horrible muggles, who may and may not be his actual family, and who was actively trying to kill Meredy, and he would die before anything happened to her, never again would he lose his first friend and one he loved more than anything.

Harry felt his magic responding to his need, his senses growing keener, his scythe getting sharper, his movements speeding up, slowly, he was over whelming Voldemort. Like all slayers, his magic was deeply in tune with his emotions, and right now, he was pushing everything he had to the max, for his family.

Voldemort could feel himself being driven back, all he needed was one hit, one blow would end this and Potter would end up a statue like the arrogant woman had. Voldemort quickly formed a plan in his head, he hadn't become the most powerful dark lord of this age without knowing how to make a sacrifice.

Harry made a rising cut, meant to knock Voldemort's sword aside, but the wizard shifted his block at the last second and Harry's scythe sliced through his wrist holding the sword, leaving him open to the blast of magic Voldemort then shot at him with his other hand, knocking Harry backwards and into a wall, his life slipping away.

Luck and Fate are sometimes debated to be opposites, others believe that one is the result of the other, but whether it was one, the other, both or neither, Harry's life was saved when Voldemort's severed hand, adorned with a black stone ring landed on his lap.

Harry felt his world light up in pain as he was struck in the chest, he felt something land on his lap, and his world went dark.

When Harry opened his eyes, he was in a train station, like he was all those years ago when the God of Death saved him against the Reaper.

"Well well Harry, congratulations, you have collected all three artifacts, without even trying and really knowing what you were accomplishing." Death greeted Harry with a gesture to the cloak, wand, and ring in his hands.

"I know you like to teach in puzzles, but I have a madman to kill, so can we keep this brief?" Harry asked his long time teacher while examining his cloak, Zeref's wand, and the ring clad hand.

"What you have there are three powerful artifacts, from three eras of magic. The cloak is the oldest, made to completely shroud one from death, it is impossible to die while wearing the cloak. The ring is from a later era, it reaches beyond the veil to summon a shadow of those departed, but they aren't always happy spirit's, leading many users of the stone to kill themselves. The wand was a creation of the wizard named Zeref and is the newest of the artifacts. He took an already powerful and legendary wand and poured dark magic into it, making it nigh unbeatable." Death lectured Harry who held the artifacts reverently.

"So I'm holding a way to avoid death, summon spirits from the dead, and the most powerful way to kill people?" Harry asked, eyeing the artifacts.

"For normal people yes, but the death energy around the three pieces would eventually kill them the second they took the cloak off, but you are different, all the death energy that was stored in the artifacts was released into your system the moment you held all three, triggering a power locked away by the gods long ago, the Secret Art, God Oversoul. It's the equivalent of Dragon Force, but you must have complete mental fortitude to use it without losing control. It was sealed by the gods because the mental corrosion that God Slayer magic naturally causes was making God Oversoul turn our slayers into walking bombs, and when a pair of bickering gods set their slayers on each other and both were killed by the slayers, the art was sealed."

"So basically this is a warning to never use that unless I want to explode?" Harry asked, growing exasperated at learning his goal for years, a god slayer equivalent to Dragon force was a suicide technique.

"Not exactly, God slayers were usually hermits and fanatics, shunning all other human connection, but you are different, you have people you fight for, not a cause or ideal, but tangible people you love. Save it as a last resort as using Oversoul is extremely lethal, and while you have no qualms over killing people, I know it isn't your preferred method." Death told Harry, who was grinning. "You don't have enough magic yet, the magic you gained from the Deathly Hallows was only enough to break the seal, not power the technique, but I think you know how to fix that problem." Death told Harry with a joking voice and dismissed him with a flick of his wrist.

Death watched with pride as his student made history.

Meredy's breath caught in her throat as Voldemort's strike caught Harry in the chest and he flew backwards, his skin visibly turning gray, the life being drained from him. Natsu and Laxus roared in rage as the leapt forward at Voldemort, determined to end him.

Meredy didn't notice that though, she fell to her knees as Harry's body lay on the ground, his chest not rising and falling, all the links she had on him failing, no link could reach the dead.

The one armed Voldemort was struggling to survive against the two pissed dragon slayers, but the smug expression on his face never faltered as he watched Harry's life force slip away.

As Laxus and Natsu attacked Voldemort, more wizards began pouring into the room, dressed as civilians, but all had their wands drawn and were being led by Dumbledore, who was smiling softly, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Surrender Tom, we have you surrounded." He called out, his voice far from the grandfatherly tone he usually carried.

"Foolish Dumbledore, I'm more powerful now than ever, can't you see my power, I can crush everyone in moments, I'm going to drain every last drop of magic out of this world." Voldemort boasted, Laxus and Natsu halting in their assault temporarily to catch their breath. Meredy took the opportunity to rush to Harry's side as his skin continued to shrivel and blacken, like what he had done to Zancrow.

"You will fall Tom, as evil always does, the goodness of the world shall…" Dumbledore went to continue, but a flick of Voldemort's hand sent a bullet of shadow into Dumbledore's chest. In a matter of moments, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, widely considered the most powerful wizard in the world, rapidly shriveled away into dust.

Voldemort gave a wild laugh as Dumbledore's forces panicked and began to flee, only to find the exits had been sealed off.

"That old fool, he never did understand, and now, to crush what's left." Voldemort turned and began shooting bullets of darkness into the crowd of wizards and witches, reducing almost half of them to dust.

Natsu and Laxus reengaged the dark lord, but were having no luck landing a decisive blow. Meredy and Lisanna were trying to pump magic into Harry's system to counter Voldemort's spell, but all they were doing was exhausting themselves as Harry lay motionless on the ground.

"Give up, it's clear I've won." Voldemort growled as he continued to fight off Natsu and Laxus, who were just about ready to kick things up a notch against the one handed dark lord.

Before Natsu could respond with a taunt, Harry's eyes shot open and the graying of his skin began to rapidly reverse itself. The Elder wand dropped from his pocket, an ordinary wand once again, Voldemort's hand fell off his lap as all it's power faded and the cloak slipped from his shoulders as Harry stood up, his eyes gleaming with power.

"Meredy, I can end this, I just need some more juice!" Harry called to her as his magic began to swirl. Laxus and Natsu leapt away from Voldemort as he watched the boy he thought he had killed summon forth a power that had been sealed away from humanity for years.

Meredy quickly linked herself to the rest of the mages present, even Luna, Hermione and Neville poured their magic to Harry, who started to glow an emerald green.

"Forbidden Art; GOD OVERSOUL!" Harry called as he pulled in all the power around him, leaving seven panting mages nearly dry of magic.

Harry began to levitate as he unleashed a power long lost to any world. His skin became a pure white and he projected a light gray aura. Emerald green tribal tattoos formed over his skin and a blindfold of power formed over his eyes, his hair grew slightly and waved wildly in the storm of power, making him look like a wingless angel, come down to judge those before him.

Harry could barely contain the awesome power he was now using. When the blindfold formed over his eyes, he could no longer see just people, but pure life force. He could see every aspect of the beings before him, the wild sparking lightning, the roaring flame of passion, the being of many skins, and one being who felt the love of hundreds, all for him.

With a mental gasp, Harry snapped back into focus, his mind returning. He could see why this was forbidden, thinking about Meredy was all that was keeping him centered right now, and even that was a struggle. Harry knew he had to act quickly before this power consumed him.

Voldemort was in shock at his nemesis's revival, and began shooting wave after wave of magic at him, but each blast sizzled out against Harry's omnipotent aura. Harry gave a soft smile as he felt the black lifeforce he assumed was Voldemort try and fail to touch him with his new power, how easy it would be to reach out and…. No, Harry stopped his mind right there, it wasn't up to him to play god, he would simply bring down those that tried to.

Harry reached his left hand forward at Voldemort, and he touched the very essence of the vile man's being. He reached into what defined him, and tore it out.

Voldemort froze as his magic left him, every drop of power and life force drained. Voldemort fell in a heap, his breath coming in short rattled bursts. Harry could see the anchors keeping him from dieing, but Harry let them be. Voldemort may be immortal, but his soul had lost its essence, never again would Voldemort wield magic of any kind. Harry had made him into a muggle.

Harry paused for a moment as he felt Voldemort collapse, then reached out again, this time with his right hand and pointed at the statue that was Ultear.

The stone that surrounded the time mage gave a shuddering crack and fell away, revealing Ultear within, alive but unconscious. Surprisingly, it wasn't Meredy, but Laxus who caught her as she collapsed.

Harry could feel his time limit for Oversoul approaching, but there was one more thing he needed to do. He knew his earlier message had been received and his godfather was here.

"Catch Harry!" Sirius called as he tossed the Goblet of Fire that Dumbledore had hidden in Grimmauld Place to him.

Harry caught the cup deftly and pointed it towards the veil that Voldemort had foolishly claimed was a door to death. The blue flames within the goblet spun in an intense storm, then shot into the veil.

The veil rippled and a swirling portal of green formed as Harry finally ran out of power from his oversoul and fell, completely exhausted. Natsu acted quickly and caught the exhausted God Slayer before he could hit the ground.

"The portal leads back to Earthland, should put us in the forests outside Magnolia, but this was a one time trick, we go now and never." Harry panted out as Natsu let him down, but let Harry continue to lean on him.

"Luna, Hermione, Neville, you all have lives here, but you are welcome to join us, that goes for you too old mutt." Harry said as Meredy grabbed his other side and Laxus carried Ultear through the portal, followed by Lisanna.

"Daddy won't mind, he'd be excited I get to see new creatures." And with that, Luna skipped through the portal

"Gran will be sad, but there's no future here for me, I'm with you Harry." and Neville followed Luna through the portal.

"I refuse to let prejudice old fools hold me back simply because of who I was born too." Hermione said and marched her way through the portal.

"You didn't even have to ask pup." Sirius said clapping Harry on the shoulder as he, Natsu, Meredy, and Harry made their way through the portal, leaving a stunned audience, Dumbledore's ashes, and a muggle dark lord.

But Harry Potter didn't worry about that for a second. He was finally going home, with his family.

 **Wow, that chapter fought me every step of the way. And for all the people who thought I killed Ultear, gotcha, I have plans for her still.**

 **To address several things, first, Harry went back to Hogwarts because of some binding magical contract for all British born people, Meredy just chose to follow him. He stayed compliant there because he was worried about the killing curse, and while he nullified it, he knew he couldn't always be around to protect his friends from it. I tried to emphasis how much Harry hated the curse, but I don't think I did a good enough job.**

 **Next chapter will be short and clippy, but the one after that will start the gmg, which will have some major changes. Of course, with gmg comes everything after, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to end after the games, for simplicities sake.**

 **On another note, I am considering writing a series of oneshots about all the trouble Natsu and Lisanna got into during their time in the wizarding world. If I get people asking for it I might do it, but if no one cares I'll just write something else.**

 **Love all the favs and follows and positive reviews, only one asking me to die this time, improvement.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	28. Chapter 28

**I don't own FT and HP**

After a brief falling sensation, Harry and the others fell in a heap on the ground, in the middle of a very familiar forest. After almost two years, they were finally home.

"Common guys, let's go to Fairy Tail, it's been way too long." Natsu cheered and Lisanna smiled brightly.

"You forget one small detail Natsu. Ultear and I are wanted criminals here, we won't just be welcomed and when the council finds out, there'll be serious trouble." Meredy pointed out, drawing a grimace from those who remembered that small detail, and surprised looks from the group who had just gotten to Earthland for the first time.

"Wait, you're a criminal?" Neville asked, looking at Meredy strangely.

"Well yes and no. I joined a dark guild that Ultear was already apart of, but I'd spent years working from the inside to destroy it, which happened shortly before we wound up getting sucked into your world." Meredy clarified.

"And as much as I want to go back to Fairy Tail Natsu, I'm not leaving Meredy behind." Harry said, still leaning on Meredy who blushed lightly at his words.

"So what now?" Sirius asked, serious for once.

"I have wrongs I have to right, I won't ask any of you to join me, but the help would be appreciated." Ultear said from Laxus's arms, having regained consciousness.

"We split up, Natsu Lisanna and I will go back to Fairy Tail. Ultear, Meredy, Harry can go do their thing, you four are free to choose." Laxus said, addressing those new to Earthland.

"We'll be staying with Harry, he is our friend after all." Luna said airly, drawing agreement from the other three.

"Like I'd leave Prongslet alone, I need him to teach me some fancy new magic after all." Sirius joked

"Ok then, but remember, you guys are always welcome at Fairy Tail." Lisanna said, ignoring Natsu's loud complaints.

"We know, but things have a funny way of working out, this certainly won't be the last time we see each other." Harry said, and with that, the two group parted, each with a mission.

 **Time skip, a little over 5 years later**

Makarov Dreyar was an old man, and when he saw the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, his only hope was that his precious children would escape unharmed, or at least alive.

So when he woke up on the beach on Tenrou island with a stick poking his cheek, surprised would be an understatement for how he felt.

"You awake gramps, Lisanna said you were still alive, but you still aren't moving. Is it because you're old?" There was a voice Makarov would recognize anywhere, and his heart felt lighter knowing Natsu was still Natsu.

"OF COURSE I'M OLD YOU BRAT, NOW STOP POKING ME!" Makarov yelled at the fire dragon slayer, punching him over the head, knocking him face first into the dirt.

"Good to see you too gramps." Natsu's voice came from the ground.

Makarov rose slowly, being careful of his injuries, time certainly wasn't his friend. When he rose, he noticed how different Natsu seemed, older.

"Natsu, why do you look like an adult instead of a brat?" Makarov asked carefully, mentally preparing himself for an answer.

"Well, I managed to get off the island before is disappeared, so while it was only a second for you guys, it was seven years for the outside world, at least that's how the new master explained it." Natsu said, striking a thinking pose.

"Seven years…" Makarov trailed off, he missed seven years of his children's lives. "Who else got off the island?"

"Me, Lisanna, Harry, a few of his friends, and Laxus." Natsu listed off.

"So when you said new master…" Makarov paled, Laxus as the Master of Fairy Tail.

"Yup, Laxus does a good job though, no matter how much he complains about the paperwork. I think he wants to give you the job back though, something about missing all the dangerous missions." Natsu said, drawing streams of tears from Makarov at the thoughts of all the complaints from the council.

"Now let's go Gramps, we gotta go find all the other, I really want to beat it into Gray that I'm stronger than him by a lot now, maybe I could even beat Erza and Gildarts…" Natsu trailed off, clearly fantasizing about beating up his human father figure and Erza.

"You never change do you Natsu?" Makarov laughed and with that the two started looking for the rest of their guild.

By the time Natsu and Lisanna found everyone a loaded them onto the ship back to Hargeon, everyone had questions. And Gray really wanted to fight his old rival.

"Ok, questions now and Natsu can beat the crap out of Gray when we get back to the guild." Lisanna said, bopping the fire and ice wizards over the head, knocking them into the deck.

"So since Laxus is the new master, I take it Natsu and you are the new S class wizards?" Erza asked, eyeing the two carefully trying to gauge their strength.

"Yup, although Natsu is about as strong as Laxus when he fights seriously, but don't mention that to Laxus, he gets grumpy." Lisanna said, drawing every eye to the grumbling dragon who was rubbing his head, giving Lisanna a playful glare.

"Hey, I wanted to surprise them when I kicked Gray's ass." he complained as Gray scooted away from Natsu quickly. If he was as strong as Laxus, then Gray knew he stood no chance.

"I'm sure he'll forget quickly and you can beat him up then." Lisanna said, patting Natsu on the head playfully as he stood back up.

"Good point, he does forget a lot, like his clothes." Natsu commented. When Gray went to protest, he noticed he was once again dressed solely in his boxers...again.

"Damn it." Gray complained and sighed, he was too tired for this.

"Natsu, you had mentioned Harry also got off the island, is he at the guild too?" Makarov asked, his aged eyes watching the dragon slayer carefully.

"Nah, some of his friends had done a few less than legal things, but they felt bad about and wanted to make an amends to society and something like that. So they went out and formed an independent guild that hunts down dark guilds and works with the council in exchange for pardons." Natsu said

"Anyone we'd need to worry about wanting to get revenge on Fairy Tail?" Gildarts asked from his seat next to Cana.

"Nah, it's a pretty small guild, kinda like Oracion Seis was. It's just Harry, a few of his friends you guys have never met, two ex-Grimoire Heart mages and their undercover agent, who I'm not supposed to talk about." Natsu listed off, Erza eyes him carefully.

"And they won't try to get revenge on us?" she asked, knowing full well how naive Natsu could be.

"I'm sure, the ones from Grimoire Heart had been working for years to bring them down from the inside. Lisanna and I have worked with them all before, I trust them with my life." Natsu said, all playfulness gone from his voice, his expression holding nothing but strength and belief in his words. Erza could see why Natsu was S class, no matter how he may act sometimes, it was clear he knew when it was time to drop that.

When Makarov saw the cold hard look in Natsu's eyes, he felt a small piece of him die, he had failed to protect the boy from the worst the world had to offer, but he swore he would try and help the boy.

"Well what about the rest of Fiore, the other guilds?" Freed asked.

"Well, Fairy Tail isn't number one guild anymore, but that's just because we've never entered the Grand Magic Games." Lisanna said

"The what?" Gray asked, confused

"The Grand Magic Games are a series of events held in Crocus every year, started just after you guys vanished. The winner is proclaimed the strongest guild in Fiore and given 10 million jewel." Lisanna said and cash signs flashed through Makarov's eyes.

"So who does win?" Gajeel asked gruffly, speaking up for the first time.

"I bet they're really MANLY!"

"A bunch of jerks called Sabertooth." Natsu grumbled

"Sabertooth is good, but Natsu ran into two of their best mages once and let's just say that there's been bad blood ever since." Lisanna said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"How badly did flame brain loose?" Gray asked, eyeing his rival.

"I kicked their ass, then their master got all pissed and they keep trying to goad Fairy Tail into joining the GMG to 'prove their superiority'." Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms and huffing.

"Aside from Sabertooth," Lisanna continued, smacking Natsu upside the head again, "Lamia Scale has been doing quite well, and Blue Pegasus is doing well too. Mermaid Heel is kinda an ally of ours, more Natsu than the whole guild really, but that's just details." she listed off.

"Wow Natsu, an all female guild allied to you, anything we need to know?" Gildarts asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"NO!" Natsu shouted, punching the older crash mage in the face. "I'm a dragon slayer, I have one mate and I stay loyal to her forever, don't you forget it!" and with that Natsu marched back up to where Lisanna was and pulled her into a deep kiss.

Every jaw on the ship dropped.

"They're in loooooove!" Happy sang, flying around the boat happily.

"Natsu, you haven't done anything to corrupt my sister's innocence have you?" Mira asked once the two had broken apart, her eyes alight with dark fire.

"Maybe?" Natsu said, then ran away screaming and Mira charged him in her satan soul and chased him around the ship, quickly joined by Elfman when he regained his senses.

"Well, some things never change." Lisanna said with a sigh at her sister and Natsu's actions as everyone else laughed at Natsu's shrieks.

When the group got back to the guild hall, Natsu was black and blue from the beating he had taken.

"I can't believe you let them beat me up like that." Natsu complained to Lisanna as they pushed the doors to the guild open, leading the Tenrou group home.

"Well, I figured it was best for them to get it out now rather than prolong your suffering." Lisanna said, patting Natsu's head and giving him a kiss on the cheek as he pouted, leading the group back into the guildhall for the first time in seven years.

Laxus was the first one to greet them. Seven year had been kind to the dragon slayer, he was now several inches taller and built like a truck. At 29, Makarov could sense his grandson had more magic power than a wizard saint.

"Welcome home Gramps, the paper work awaits you." Laxus said, going to the bar and grabbing the first alcoholic beverage he could find and tossing it to the shorter Dreyar.

"And nothing I say will convince you to keep the job?" Makarov asked his grandson, catching the beer.

"Are you kidding me, even if I did, I'd make you my secretary to do all the paperwork, I figured you'd want the title if you were going to do it anyway." Laxus said with a laugh and with that, the biggest party in Fairy Tail history kicked off.

 **The next day**

Makarov looked over the Guild paperwork, surprised that Laxus had kept it in good order, for the most part. While the guild wasn't struggling, Natsu and Lisanna doing constant S-class quests was the only reason the guild wasn't in serious trouble, and even with their most powerful mages back, they also just got their most destructive mages back.

With that in mind, Makarov came to a decision.

He went down from his office to the bar below and greeted Kinana, the new bartender, with a smile.

After a few hours, most of the guild had arrived and were socializing, and Gray was trying to pick a fight with Natsu, one thing Makarov was not going to let happen until he knew how destructive Natsu had gotten in the past seven years.

"Alright everyone listen up." Makarov yelled, getting everyone's attention, and stopping Gray and Natsu from duking it out in the middle of the guild hall.

"In three months the Grand Magic Games will be held, and this year Fairy Tail will be entering them, so you all have three months to train before I decide who is on the team. Now get to it brats." Makarov yelled, and just like that the whole guild sprang to life. Some people ran to take hard jobs for experience while others like Erza grabbed their team and dragged them out the door.

After barely a minute, the Guild was nearly empty, only Makarov, Kinana, Natsu, Lisanna, Laxus and Gildarts were left.

"Well, that takes care of that." Makarov said with a grin on his face as he chugged a beer that Kinana handed him.

"Natsu and I will be taking a few S-class missions Master, we'll be back for the Games." Lisanna said to Makarov, holding up a trio of S class mission fliers.

"I'm heading out for a SS, need to get back in shape, don't count on me for the games though master, they'd probably bore me." Gildarts said and with that, it was just Laxus and Makarov left.

"It really is good to have you back Gramps." Laxus said after a long silence. Makarov could only smile at his grandson.

"It's good to be back, but I have one question for you." Makarov said, his voice completely serious. "Where is the special lady who will give me great grandchildren!"

Laxus's head slammed into the bar in exasperation as large tears fell down Makarov's face. Somethings never change, Laxus thought to himself, and sometimes that was a good thing.

 **Short but hopefully good transition chapter. Next chapter will be what Crime Sorcerie has been doing these past five years, and boy do I have plans for them. I'm not sure what magic to give Sirius, so if you have an idea, just drop a review and I might use it.**

 **GMG will be big, but may be last arc before I end the story, depends on how it goes. Fav and follow, it does mean a lot when you do, reviews are all welcome, even mean ones, those make me laugh.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	29. Chapter 29

**I don't own HP or FT**

Harry leaned back as he read his messaging lacrima. Natsu had sent him a quick message to let him know that Tenrou island had been found and everyone was alive. Harry let out a sigh of relief, while he was part of a new guild, he would never forget all his time spent in Fairy Tail.

The return of Fairy Tail did mean something else though, something big was coming, Harry's old guild always wound up smack dab in the middle of every confrontation in Fiore. Harry knew it was time to act, Crime Sorciere had a job to do.

Harry allowed his serious thoughts of the future to pause as he remembered how his new guild was formed, and all the good they had done in relative secret for the good of Fiore.

 **Flashback**

After Lisanna, Natsu and Laxus departed for Fairy Tail, Harry and his group began the journey to Era, home of the Magic Council.

After a week and travel and recovering from the battle with Voldemort, the group finally arrived in Era. Harry, Meredy, and Ultear entered the city while the group from the wizarding world began teaching Sirius how to access his inner magic.

The cloaked trio was stopped in front of the council building by several rune knights and frog messengers.

"Halt, declare yourselves." Lahar, Rune Knight captain declared, eyeing the three closely.

"My name is Ultear Milkovich, I have come to turn myself into the council for my crimes." Ultear said, flipping back her hood, drawing gasps of shock from the rune knights. Ultear was one of the most wanted for helping in the upheaval of the previous council, and for the notorious time mage to turn herself in was surprising to the council representatives.

"Very well, I shall escort you and your companions before the council for your trial, but I must restrain you." Lahar agreed carefully, knowing how dangerous the woman in front of her was.

"My companions are innocent, I alone am guilty, I agree to be restrained, but they will not be." Ultear said, offering her wrists to be cuffed, and the three followed Lahar into the council room.

After the council got over the shock of a high criminal turning herself in, they began the trial.

"Ultear Milkovich, you are charged with infiltration and destruction of the previous council, how do you plead?" Gran Doma, head of the council asked, knowing the answer already, simply going through the formality. The man did keep a close eye on the two shorter cloaked figures behind Milkovich, he could almost feel the magic inside them, they were both S-class at least.

"Guilty, to the crimes mentioned and some you haven't mentioned, would you like me to list them?" Ultear asked, preparing to air all her dirty laundry, letting her past come to light.

After a positive response, Ultear let loose everything. Her treatment by the Magical Research Bureau and Brain, her involvement in the sacking of many villages under Grimoire Heart, her role as the true mastermind behind the Tower of Heaven and Jellal, and much much more. The council was frozen at the sheer volume of her admissions.

When she was done, Harry stepped forward, ready to say his piece as he flipped back his hood. "My name is Harry Potter, ex Fairy Tail mage, and I would like to propose a plan on how to answer these crimes." Harry said, not letting the anger and shock of the council speak out.

"It is clear that Ultear Milkovich not only realizes her crimes and repents for them, but is willing to act on the side of the council in order to make up for her crimes. My proposition is thus, by current Fiore law, Ultear Milkovich has earned herself just under 600 years of prison time. A special task force, in the guise of an independant guild, led by Ultear Milkovich will serve under the council to eliminate dark guilds. For each dark mage captured and sentenced, their sentence will be subtracted from Ultear's. When she fully clears herself, the guild will be no longer under the council's control, but will continue to work with them. This new guild will also offer reprieve to other dark mages who wish to truly repent for their crimes." As Harry spoke, Meredy silently wove her magic into the council, willing them to be open and accepting to Harry's idea.

"The council will consider your proposition Mr. Potter, but where is the proof that the accused will not regress, and if she does, how will she be stopped?" Gran Doma asked, looking down on the three mages.

This time, Meredy stepped forward and removed her hood, grateful she had never been a known dark mage and member of Grimoire Heart, meaning the council had no reason not to trust her. "I possess a lost magic known as Maguilty Sense, it allows me to share sensations between parties I cast the spell on, if you are willing, I can emotionally link any member of the council to the accused and allow them to feel what the accused feels, if she in genuine and not."

"And to address the second, I was an S-class mage for Fairy Tail, with the likes of Titania Erza and Laxus Dreyar, I could defeat Ultear if she were to turn." Harry said, challenging the council with his steely gaze.

"We will pass on your offer young lady, but we will take into consideration your offer. This council will now take a recess to discuss your idea, the accused will be taken to a holding cell, you both are allowed to be in the vicinity, but any action taken to free the accused will be treated as treason." Gran Doma said in a cold voice, glaring down at the pair of young mages, who simply nodded and followed the guards and bound Ultear out of the room.

After waiting for three hours, the three mages were called back into the council room.

"After much deliberation, we have decided to agree to your proposal, provided you can gather other mages to join your project." Gran Doma said, eyeing the three carefully and signalling for Ultear to be unchained.

"We have four allies waiting outside the city ranging from low B to low A in strength with no previous criminal record who would also join this project." Harry said, getting agreement from the council.

"We shall give you a week to come up with a guild logo and name before we give you your first mission, if there is nothing else, we will dismiss." Gram Dome said, ready to dismiss the council when Ultear cut him off.

"There is one more thing, as revealed by my admission, Jellal Fernandes is innocent of all crimes, I had used a possession spell on him, I would ask that he be released and allowed to join our new guild as a secret member, as his face is still known and hated by the people of Fiore." Ultear petitioned, drawing grumbles and complaints from the whole council.

"While we did notice that admission, Jellal is too powerful, if even traces of the spell remain, he would defeat you, while you might be powerful Mr. Potter, you do not have the power to defeat a wizard saint." Doma argued, shooting down the idea.

"Then how about this, I shall use my magic to allow the council access to his mind, to prove he has never consciously acted against the people of Fiore." Meredy offered, drawing interest from Gran Dome, little did he know Meredy was twisting his emotions slightly to agree with the idea.

"Fine, Lahar, bring Jellal Fernandes here, if he truly poses no threat, he will be allowed to join, if he does though, he will be executed tonight." he said, and Lahar was off.

Twenty minutes later, Jellal was brought into the council room, looking surprised at his summoning.

"If you would." Gran motioned for Meredy to use her magic, which she gladly did, linking Jellal's mind to each of the council. Meredy directed them through Jellal's past, showing the moment the possession spell took over and showing where the destruction of the Tower of Heaven destroyed it completely. As a bonus to their case, Meredy showed Jellal aiding the Guild alliance during the confrontation with the Oracion Seis.

When she ended her spell the council was convinced.

"Very well, Jellal, as you are not guilty for your crimes, you are hereby released on the condition that you join a newly forming independant guild meant to hunt dark guilds, and that you conceal your appearance to prevent drawing attention to yourself. The council will hold a fake execution for you next week to further cover your tracks, are these terms acceptable to you?" Gran Doma offered and the deal was happily accepted by Jellal.

And so, Crime Sorciere was born

 **Flashback end**

Harry smiled at the memory, it had taken five years, but Ultear had managed to work off her sentence, and for the past 6 months Crime Sorciere had acted as their own guild, Ultear serving as the master.

In that time, Neville, Luna and Hermione had all grown into strong A rank mages, working as a functioning unit. Harry himself had worked with Meredy, combining their magic to drain every dark mage of their magic without a fight, the council was most pleased with the deal they had struck, as the positive PR they received was at an all time high.

But despite all the good they had done, Crime Sorciere's work was still not done, they had one more goal, one that the Laxus, Lisanna, and Natsu planned to help them with, the death of Zeref.

Every year, Harry and the others had sensed what they knew to be Zeref's magical signature at the Grand Magic Games, but the council was not allowed to interfere with the proceedings as the Royal Family was in charge of the games, meaning that any unit under the council was not allowed to interfere. Now though, as their own legal guild, Crime Sorciere planned to enter and root the dark mage out.

Something was brewing and Harry wasn't going to sit by and do nothing, he had a job to do and a family to protect, not even Zeref was going to get in the way of that.

 **Short, but the next chapter will be the beginning of the GMG, which should be pretty exciting. The amount of reviews I got concerning Sirius's power was awesome, and most of them were really interesting, I think I know which one I am going to go with, kinda a blending of multiple ideas, so it should be good. For the GMG, I'm not sure whether I am going to replace Blue Pegasus or Quatro Cerberus with Crime Sorciere, so I am open to some input.**

 **Keep up the awesome favs and follows, reviews are always welcome to, ideas and input makes writing so much easier.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	30. Chapter 30

**I don't own FT and HP**

The Fairy Tail guild was electric, after three long months, Master Makarov was going to announce who would be participating in the Grand Magic Games for Fairy Tail.

Makarov looked over his assembled mages and grimaced as several of those he wanted to compete were still out on missions. But that didn't matter, having Levy read the rulebook opened a new idea for the old Guild master, one he was more than happy to exploit.

"Alright listen up everyone, I will now announce our Team for the Grand Magic Games!" Makarov yelled from his post up on the second floor railing. Makarov observed the mages who were present and grinned. Both Fairy Tail Teams were going to make waves.

"The members will be…."

"Erza Scarlet" the red headed knight nodded and grinned, the three months of team training had shaken all the rust off her formidable skills.

"Gray Fullbuster" the ice mage glanced at Erza and nodded, cool as ever

"Gajeel Redfox" the iron dragon slayer grunted from the back of the guild where he was eating a plate and silverware.

"And the final two will be Lucy Heartfilia and Wendy Marvell!" the two girls fell into hysterics, protesting their placement on the team.

"Calm down you two, master is clearly going for teamwork rather than raw magic. That and some of the stronger mages are still out on missions." Erza told the two, getting their hopes up only to reduce them to waterfalls of tears.

"And the reserve member will be Juvia Lockser!" Gray groaned as the water mage tackled him in her joy.

"You hear that sweetie, Juvia will be waiting in the reserves to support you."

"You six will have to be at the Honeybone In in Crocus in a week, there will be more instructions there, so go and win some money.. I mean win for the Guild!" Makarov yelled and with that the six mages charged out of the Guildhall and towards the Train Station. Makarov chuckled at the enthusiasm of his mages, but he knew that he had one surprise for them and as good as the A Team was, the B team was packing some serious heat.

Once the team got to Crocus and settled in at the Honey Bone In the day before the games were due to start, Lucy and Wendy decided to go exploring in the Capital city of Fiore. Wendy and Carla went to the Gardens and Lucy went shopping.

While looking through the hedge mage, Wendy stumbled upon a a small creature running through the maze.

"Hello." Wendy asked the thing, ignoring Carla's protests. The thing gave Wendy a wicked smile and flashed it's magic, leaving the young Dragon slayer and her exceed friend passed out on the ground.

Lucy had also stumbled into some trouble, in the form of the two over aggressive dragonslayers from Saber Tooth.

"Listen to the girl while, Sabertooth is going to crush Fairy Tail now that they are finally meeting our challenge, I have been training for years to defeat Natsu Dragneel little Fairy fly." Sting Eucliffe growled to Lucy after she had called them out for their bragging.

"Oh I get it now, you two must be the pair Natsu told me about, the two he curbstomped." Lucy said, further antagonizing the blonde dragon slayer. Sting made to attack her when his dragonslayer companion stopped him.

"If you attack her now Sting you will be disqualified, which means you cannot put Dragneel in his place, show some self control." Rogue told his companion, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Fine, but if we meet in the games I am going to put you in the hospital little Fairy." Sting threatened and left a sighing Lucy as the crowd that had formed around dispersed. Lucy was silently thankful for them leaving, she knew she was no match for any dragon slayer, including Wendy.

That night, when the team met in their assigned room, they noticed Wendy was missing.

"She must have gotten lost while exploring the city." Gray said as unconsciously took his shirt, much to Juvia's delight.

"Then water girl will just be the fifth member and Wendy will be the reserve, problem solved, now let's get ready, from what I've heard about these games they start immediately from the assigned rooms." Gajeel cut in, ending the debate.

"Let me guess, you heard from Levy, you two have been spending a lot of time together, anything you want to tell us Gajeel." Lucy teased and much to everyone's delight, Gajeel blushed slightly.

"Shut up bunny girl, I get the feeling things are about to start." Gajeel said, ignoring his snickering team.

"Welcome one welcome all, to the seventh ever Grand Magic Games!" a voice came from a speaker in the room and a projection of a small man with a jack'o'lantern for a head could be seen through the window as the room of the In fell apart around the Fairy Tail team.

"Now, for the first event, since the Games have become more popular in these past years, we will be holding a preliminary event, the Sky Labrinth. It's simple, the first 8 teams to reach Domus Flau, the arena at the center of the maze, are the teams that will compete in the games, ready GO!"

And with that, Fairy Tail's team took off into the maze.

Switch POV

Harry smirked as the rules for the preliminaries were announced. After finally getting out from under the council, Ultear had decided that it was high time Crime Sorciere joined the Grand Magic Games.

Crime Sorciere had no interest in winning the Grand Magic Games though, but in the magical that lay under the surface of the event, Zeref's. So as a legitimate excuse to be in Crocus during the games, Harry and his team entered while other members went snooping around for the source of the magic and Ultear used her role as Guild member to distract anyone who might question what her mages were doing.

That didn't mean that Crime Sorciere wasn't going to try to win however, no, Harry, Meredy, and the others were all highly competitive and all wanted to win. Harry especially wanted a chance to fight Jura, who was entering for Lamia this year.

As they were dropped into the maze, Harry and his team sprinted forward, excited for what was sure to be their most memorable mission yet.

Minor Time skip

"Welcome one welcome all, to this year's GRAND MAGIC GAMES!" Mato, the pumpkin headed announcer yelled as the crowd within Domus Flau cheered loudly.

"After last night's preliminary event, 8 teams have risen to the challenge, but first, let's meet our announcers, First, ex councilman Yajima, and his partner, Chapati! To go along with these two will be a daily announcer, today, we have Miss Fiore herself, Jenny Realight!"

Up in the announcers booth, both Yajima and Chapati waved to the cheering crowd while Jenny pouted.

"Moving on, the team that came in 8th during the preliminary event, entering the Games for the first time, Fairy Tail!" Mato announced and Erza led her team proudly onto the field. The crowd gave a mixed response of cheers and boos, but Erza's harsh glare

"Coming in 7th, the Hounds of Hell, Quatro Cerberus!" a group of rough looking men stepped forwards.

"In 6th, the fine ladies of Mermaid Heel!" a group of girls led by a swords woman that had Erza's glare.

"In 5th, led by a wizard saint, Lamia Scale!" Jura led his team forward, getting a roar of welcome from the crowd.

"You slackers, were you even trying!" Lamia's master shouted from the stands, glaring down at her guilds team, making most of the audience sweatdrop.

"In 4th, another team entering the games for the first time, the mysterious Raven Tail!" a gold armored man led a group of deranged looking mages and Makarov began shouting in protest.

"It has been seven years since any illegal documented activity, so Raven Tail has been allowed to elevate its status to an independant guild." Mato said, quelling the protests of Makarov, for now.

"In 3rd, a third team new to the games, the bane of all dark guilds, Crime Sorciere!" Harry led his team forward proudly, Meredy right behind him, waving at the crowd. Hermione had her nose tucked in a book and Luna was skipping alongside Neville, who was blushing slightly under the attention of the crowd.

"In 2nd, what a surprise, we have the reigning champions, the mighty SABERTOOTH!" Sting and Rogue, the twin dragon slayers playing up the roaring crowd, Rogue by calmly waving and Sting animatedly drawing more cheers and swoons from the crowd.

"Wait, if Sabertooth got second, who was first?" Jenny asked from the booth, that shut the crowd up pretty quickly, they all began whispering among themselves, looking at the gate intensely, waiting.

"And in First place, FAIRY TAIL!?" Mato yelled, both excited and surprised. Out of the tunnel came Laxus leading Natsu, Mirajane, Lisanna and Elfman.

"Why do they get two teams, isn't that unfair!" Kurohebi from Raven Tail shouted, drawing complaints from both the crowd and other teams that hadn't made the top 8.

"You'll find in the rule book that each guild is allowed to enter an A and a B team, it would seem Fairy Tail came prepared to compete because that 'B' team of theirs had 4 S-class mages, two of which have turned down the title of wizard saint." Yajima said from the announcers booth, that certainly got the attention of the crowd and other teams.

"I knew that Laxus got offered the position, but who else…." Gray trailed off as he saw the sheepish expression on his rival's face and remembered the offhand comment from Lisanna about Natsu being as strong as Laxus. Whatever he had thought before, Gray knew that the gap between himself and his rival just kept on growing.

"NATSU, since do they give the title of wizard saint to people who destroy buildings on every mission?!" Lucy shouted, drawing a grumble from Natsu.

"I just started taking missions where I was supposed to destroy things instead of other jobs." Natsu grumbled, secretly enjoying the shocked expressions on his guildmates' faces.

"Well, it seems like Fairy Tail B is going to be the team to beat, and with the introductions out of the way, onto the first event Kabo!" Mato announced, drawing attention back to the games themselves as each took their place in their sections.

"The first four days will consist of an event that every team will participate in, choosing what member will compete, depending how each team scores in the event will determine their score. After will be a battle round, where our sponsors will choose which mages will go head to head, the winner will receive 10 points and the loser none, in the case of a draw, each team will receive 5 points." Chapati explained the point system over the speaker system and a holographic scoreboard came to life, showing all the teams currently sat even at 0 points.

"And now for our first event, a game called Hidden!" Mato announced and signaled for every team to send a competitor forward.

"I suppose we should start off strong." Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale said as he came forward to compete. Not one to be outdone, Gray followed his childhood friend and rival. Nullpudding came onto the field for Raven Tail, Beth Vanderwood for Mermaid Heel, and Jager for Quatro Cerberus.

"Oh oh oh I got this one Harry, I can hide so well they'll never find me." Luna said to Harry who smiled at the over excited girl and waved her forward.

"I shall partake in this fine event." Rufus Lore said and came down from his spot on the Sabertooth bench.

"Oh, I guess I could try." Mirajane said as she came forward for the B team, giving Erza a sweet look that only Makarov and the requip mage could decipher, the demon was coming out to play.

"The rules are simple, you all will be placed inside a maze, if you strike your opponent, you will gain a point, being struck by an opponent will cause you to lose a point, after you have been struck, you will be teleported to a different portion of the maze, are there any questions?" MAto asked once he had explained the event.

"Yeah, isn't it unfair for Fairy Tail to have multiple people competing in an event like this?" Nullpudding asking, his tone venomous.

"Does it bother any of the other competitors?" Mato asked, not noticing Mira standing over his shoulder staring them done with what could be mistaken for a sweet smile, but the undertone made all the other competitors begin to sweat.

"Nope"

"None at all"

"It's fine."

"I think it makes things more exciting."

"Wow, I want to learn to smile like that!"

The last comment by Luna made Harry's head drop as he began to mumble about crazy blondes sending him to an early grave as he watched his friend try and match Mira's crazy smile. Meredy simply patted her long time boyfriend on the head and rolled her eyes at his melodramatics.

"Well if that's the case there is only one thing left to say, BEGIN!" and like that, all 8 competitors were teleported into a maze designed like a town.

"And let the hiding begin." Mato's voice came from above as clones of all 8 competitors formed all over the town scape.

"What, clones of me, how am I supposed to hide now." Luna whined, again drawing muttering from Harry.

"I can fix this, Imagine Make, Invisibility Cloak of Luna!" and with a wave of her hand, Luna and all of her clones around the field vanished.

"Well, it seems Luna Lovegood of Crime Sorciere has opened up this round with an interesting spell, did you catch what spell she used?" Jenny asked her fellow commentators.

"Miss Lovegood uses a magic similar to Rufus of Sabertooth. While Rufus uses memory make to recreate anything he has seen before, Luna con only create things she thinks up, nothing that actually exists, making her without a doubt the most unpredictable mage in this whole competition." Yamaji explained, enjoying the shock from the crowd and teams. Rufus scowled when he heard this, Luna's magic was a perfect counter to his own, maker magic taken to an extreme.

"Well, that's just great." Gray grumbled as he ran through the town, keeping an eye out for any other competitor that was acting out of the norm, signaling them as not an illusion.

"Gotcha!" a voice came from his left and a fist hit Gray in the side, sending him into a wall before he vanished, only catching a glimpse at his attacker, Nullpudding.

"And Nullpudding of Raven Tail scores the first point of the tournament, sending Gray into the negatives." Jenny said with a wince, Nullpudding hit certainly didn't look pleasant.

Gray shook himself off after he was teleported and started back into the maze, determined not to let himself be caught off guard again.

As he was running however, he felt himself run into an invisible body and fall over before being teleported.

"And for hitting an illusion, Gray loses another point." Mato announces, drawing groans from the others in the arena, each cursing the invisible Luna illusions that were scattered throughout the arena.

As Hidden continued, Beth Jager, Gray, Nullpudding and Lyon were all seen trading blows and racking up points. Luna stayed completely out of the picture, her invisible illusions though, had gotten all five at least once though.

"As we have only a minute left, Mirajane Strauss has the lead." Jenny called, before realizing what she had said and looking back at the scoreboard. Sure enough Mira was leading with six points.

"It would seem Mira took the discreet route and has been using transformation magic to hide herself, making sure Nullpudding can't target her like he has Gray.

"I have memorized everything, the time to act is now." Rufus, who had been absent for the whole contest announced from a rooftop.

"Memory Make, night of falling stars!" Six streams of light flew from his hands and each struck one of the opposing mages just before time expired.

"And that's it for Hidden, let's see how the competitors stacked up." Mato called and turned to the scoreboard.

Gray Fullbuster -9

Jager -1

Luna Lovegood 0

Arana Webb 1

Lyon Vastia 3

Nullpudding 4

Mirajane Strauss 5

Rufus 6

"And the winner is SABERTOOTH!" The crowd exploded as Rufus took a bow, stepping forward from the other six that had landed near him after the illusion of a city was dispersed.

"Wait, where'd that Luna girl go?" Nullpudding asked, looking around for the blonde, who had been responsible for most of his lost points because of her invisibility.

"The game's over Luna. You won nobody found you." Harry called into the arena and a cheer was heard from the commentators booth and Luna phased back into view.

"Yippee, I win!" Luna cheered as she skipped out of the booth, leaving most everyone stunned.

"How did she even get in there, the door is sealed because we have confidential information in here." Yajima quietly asked Chapati who shrugged in response.

"Well, while she missed the point of the game, Luna certainly put on an impressive display." Jenny said, hiding the fact that Luna had been less than a foot behind her and she hadn't noticed.

Now that Hidden is over let's check the team score tally." Mato said, drawing the stares away from the smiling blonde mage

The scoreboard now read

Sabertooth-10

Fairy Tail B-8

Raven Tail-6

Lamia Scale-4

Mermaid Heel-3

Crime Sorciere-2

Quatro Cerberus-1

Fairy Tail A-0

As everyone was reading the scoreboard, Luna slipped back into her team's section and whispered to Harry, "Nothing in any of their papers about any sort of magic drain or fight preferences, Neville is the one fighting for us today though. They didn't have much, as of now I call them clean." the playful whimsy was gone from her voice as she reported in and Harry just nodded in response.

"Figured as much, but it doesn't hurt to check, Mato is the suspicious one anyway, no records on him at all, I set Padfoot on his trail earlier, so we'll see if he digs anything up."

"Sorry I let you guys down, Nullpudding was all over me." Gray complained as he sat down next to Juvia, not even caring she was fawning over him.

"Do not worry Gray-sama, Juvia will avenge you!" Juvia declared, getting a sweat drop from her team.

"You might not even compete Juvia, this next section has been pre decided." Lucy pointed out , but as usual, the fanatic mind of Juvia didn't even hear her.

"Our first match, Juvia Lockser vs Flare Corona!" que sweat drop from Lucy.

 **And so the games begin, the teams are revealed and the stage is set. The B team will be more dominant, but the two teams will merge eventually, like in cannon. Most of the one v one matches were changed though, as I changed up the teams significantly. I am debating if I should do a Erza vs Mira match or not, but I do have some planned out, the first four fights will be next chap, along with a little audience talks. I will be revealing what Jellal and Sirius have been doing in a few chaps, but not quite yet.**

 **Shoutout to Hellwolf19 for the longest and most intricate review on the last chap. This story did break 1000 favs with the last chapter, which is awesome so thanks to all you guys, can't wait to see that number keep going up.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	31. Chapter 31

**I don't own FT and HP**

"Yes, Juvia will avenge Gray-sama!" Juvia cried and leapt onto the field, the deranged redhead from Raven Tail also stepped forward.

"You should surrender now, who knows what could happen otherwise…" Flare trailed off, watching Juvia with wide eyes.

"Never." Juvia asserted

"Begin kabo!" Mato called and both mages sprung into action.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia yelled, moving quickly as she struck. Huge sharpened blasts of water came crashing into existence, each strong enough to rend steel.

"Hair barrier!" Flare shielded herself, her hair coming out of its long braids and shielding her from the water.

As the water hit her hair, steam billowed through the air and hid the Raven Tail mage from view.

"Did you see that Gray-sama, Juvia has avenged you!" JUvia cheered, dropping the serious expression she had held meer moments before.

"I swear she's bipolar." Gray grumbled, uncomfortable at the water mage's affection for him.

"Is that all. Hehehehe, then this will be easy." Flare's voice came from within the clearing steam, showing her to be completely unharmed. "Hair Shower, Wolf Fang!"

Flare's hair came to life, forming a red wolf that struck at Juvia, who simply stood as she watched the hair creation.

The wolf like creature smashing into Juvia, but simply passed through her as Juvia willed herself to become liquid.

"Simple hair attacks will not work on Juvia, if you will not go down easy, Juvia will hit you harder, for Gray-sama." Juvia said and began casting again, using Flare's surprise to her advantage.

"Water Nebula!" Juvia called and two massive spirals of water sprung to life on either side of Flare and began rotating around her, closing in on the panicking hair mage.

"Flaming Hair tornado!" Flare called, swinging her head in the opposite direction that the water was spiraling. Her long hair whipped in a ferocious wave and caught fire as it made contact with Juvia's swirling attack. The fiery hair and waters battled for a moment before the cancelled each other out, leaving a panting hair mage and a slightly shocked water mage.

"Juvia sees you are strong, but that spell took a lot of power, this will end now, for Gray-sama!" Juvia declared, snapping into action, preparing her next spell.

"WATER CYCLONE!" JUvia unleashed her most powerful spell and twice as much water as before flooded the stadium, a huge swirling mass of water that Juvia held above her, beads of sweat dripping down her face, signalling she was pouring most of her magic into this last spell.

Juvia released the spell, sending it crashing down at Flare, the roaring mass of water pressing down on the flaming hair mage, who was staring at the spell with fear in her eyes.

As the spell came crashing down though, Alexei, the leader of the Raven Tail team gave a short hand signal to one of his mages, Obra, a tall blue man with a pointed nose.

Obra tapped his cane to the ground and just like that, Juvia's grand water cyclone petered off and dispersed, leaving a panting exhausted water mage.

"What, Juvia does not understand…" The watermage trailed off, looking at Flare, who was just as surprised as Juvia did, but she quickly took advantage of the tired mage.

"Hair Shower, Firefly Flame!" small strands of Flare's hair shot forward towards Juvia and detonated when they were close to her. Juvia tried to force her body to turn to water, but her last spell had drained her of most of her reserves.

Juvia gave a scream in pain as she felt the explosions around her, knocking her around the field like a pinball. All the while Flare gave a cold laugh.

After a moment's hesitation, Flare sent one final spell at the struggling water mage. "Flaming  
Hair, Fire Bomb!" Flare's hair curled at the end like a bun and launched forward into Juvia, hitting her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. While she was still reeling, the bun of hair exploded in a flaming blast, sending Juvia flying backwards and into the wall, out cold and covered in burns.

"The winner is Flare Corona of Raven Tail!" Mato called, apparently not concerned over the condition of the water mage.

Gray was the first one on the field, sprinting towards Juvia as Flare left the field in uneven steps. Gray picked up his stalker gently and walked her off the field, his face a blank mask of fury as he glared at the Raven Tail team.

Harry had been watching the match very carefully, Raven Tail was the one dark guild that Crime Sorciere had never gotten any dirt on, not their goal, their members, nothing. The only thing he knew was they were after something, and Fairy Tail was heavily involved.

As he watched the match, Harry clearly saw the two motions Alexei had made towards his team. One to Obra to somehow cancel out Juvia's spell, and another to Flare to take the last shot at Juvia. Harry could tell that Flare hadn't wanted to do it, but she was afraid of Alexei, so she had complied.

Harry made a note to have Raven Tail watched, they were up to no good without a doubt, but if they were related to what had been happening at these games was yet to be seen.

"Second up, Warcry of Quatro Cerberus vs Rufus Lore from Sabertooth." Mato called regaining the attention of the crowd after Flare's brutal display.

Rufus elegantly made his way back down to the stadium floor while Warcry tried to make a big entrance and wound up tripping over his dog poncho and falling on his face.

"I will end this quickly before you are allowed to gather your strength, to do otherwise would be folly." Rufus stated calmly to Warcry who was preparing himself to face the Sabertooth mage.

"Ready, begin!" Mato called and Rufus sprang into action

"Memory make, complete breakage." with a flourish, Rufus's spell connected with Warcry, who fell immediately, shrieking in pain briefly before he blacked out.

"Winner, Rufus!" the end came so quickly the crowd barely had time to start cheering, but the other competitors were looking at Warcry who was being loaded onto a stretcher.

"By the way he fell and the angles of his limbs, combined with the name of the spell, I would say that Rufus just broke every bone in Warcry's body at once." Hermione said, her voice tinged with fear and disgust.

"And for him to have a spell for it, he must have manually done it to someone before, so he could 'memorize' it." Meredy said, glaring at the Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon.

"It could be just a particularly cruel spell, but I say we keep an eye on him and all of Sabertooth." Neville said, drawing a nod from Harry.

"Yeah, they most likely aren't involved completely, but I would put money on one of them being connected with that magic signature." Harry agreed as the next match was called.

"Neville Longbottom vs Beth Vanderwood!"

Neville jumped down, ready to fight against the farm girl.

"Nice to meet you, ready to rumble?" Beth asked in a drawl and Neville smiled.

"Ready when you are, as they say, ladies first." Neville said, turning on the British charm.

"Begin!" and with Mato's call, Beth leapt sideways and started casting.

"Carrot Missile!" Beth began circling Neville, making her vegetable weapons shoot at him from every direction as she ran.

"Plant make, Umbrella flower!" large petaled flowers sprung up around Neville shielding him from the carrots and hiding him from view.

As Neville vanished behind his plants, Beth scowled and continued to try and destroy his shield, halting her circling to focus on a single point. When she stopped however, mushrooms with little feet began hopping out from behind the shield and towards Beth, who hurried away, not liking the look of them.

"Vegetable magic, cabbage bomb!" Beth called, halting in her running and sending a spell with more destructive power at the flower shield, blowing it away, revealing a hole in the ground where Beth had thought Neville was.

"And it would seem Neville has gone to ground in this wildlife battle!" Mato called as Harry watched the field carefully. Neville had worked hard to learn diver magic to counter his weakness. Now he could distract his opponent with his plants while he set up a trap, now all that was left was for Beth to land in it.

Beth continued to circle the arena, keeping her eyes her eyes to the ground as she waited for Neville to resurface.

As she ran though, spiked tentacles sprang up in front of her, and when she leapt back to dodge them, she was grabbed by more, holding her up in the air unable to move. Neville resurfaced near the center of the arena and bowed as Mato called him as the winner.

"That's 10 points for Crime Sorciere in a great display of tactics and plant life." Mato called as Neville let Beth down and shook her hand, drawing even more cheers for good sportsmanship.

"That was some real good stuff, I'll have to pick up some new tricks for next time." Beth said, then blushed and ran back to her team.

"Well Neville, I think you have an admirer." Harry teased as he rejoined his team.

"Yeah yeah Harry, laugh it up, she is pretty cute though, if you get over the fact she is five years younger than me." Neville said, striking a thinking pose, drawing laughter from the three girls on the team.

"The final match of the day will be between Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail B and Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale."

"Alright, I get to fight the big guy!" Natsu cheered, jumping up and throwing his fist into the air and leaping down into the arena, his face alight with excitement.

"It seems we finally get our match Natsu, I have been looking forward to an official match with you since the battle against the Oracion Seis." Jura said to the fire dragon slayer, his own face in a strong smile. "I plan on holding nothing back."

"Me neither, it wouldn't be fun otherwise." Natsu agreed, his smile never wavering when the fifth wizard saint stated he would be going all out.

"They put these two in the first round, do they want the arena destroyed!?" Makarov cried, imagining the kingdom demanding he pay for all the destruction Natsu was undoubtedly about to cause.

"Due to the strength of these mages, we will be strengthening the barrier between the crowd and mages, the time limit of a half hour will also be cut to 15 minutes to ensure too much isn't destroyed." Mato announced as the two powerful mages squared off.

"So we finally get to see flame brain fight, this should be good." Gray said, having returned from the infirmary where he had left Juvia with Porlyusica, who had been tending to a passed out Wendy who had been found by the Connell family passed out in one of the gardens.

"It would seem so, hopefully we haven't fallen too far behind him." Erza said in a brisque tone, watching the upcoming match closely. Two of the strongest mages she had ever known were about to go head to head and it was going to be destructive.

"BEGIN!" Mato called before fleeing behind the barrier and watching carefully as Jura and Natsu squared off.

"I think I'll get us started." Natsu said, smile never leaving his face. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

The blast of fire that came out of Natsu's mouth nearly filled the entire arena and burned white hot.

"Iron Rock Wall!" Jura stated calmly, summoning up his signature technique. What no one was expecting was for the rock wall to melt completely when Natsu's roar made contact. It a hurry, Jura made several more walls that were eventually able to halt's Natsu's flames.

"That was certainly more powerful than I expected." Jura said with a chuckle, a lava field now formed between him and Natsu.

"What can I say, when it comes to fire power, I'm second to none." Natsu said with a laugh and then he shot into action, sprinting across the lava without a care in the world.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" he called, wings of fire forming across his back as he shot towards Jura, who raised several more walls to block the strike. What the wizard saint didn't expect however, was for Natsu to pull up from the hit and swipe his wings early, sending waves of lava from the field and crashing into Jura's walls.

"Is Natsu actually fighting smart and using the field to his advantage?" Gray asked as he watched Natsu continue to send waves of lava at Jura, who was actually struggling to keep making walls to stop the waves.

"Not to mention the pure power behind each of his strikes, this is ridiculous." Erza agreed, now glad she hadn't tried to face Natsu when they had first awoken on Tenrou and learned of the timeskip.

"I've had enough of the lava, Harden." Jura called as he stomped on the ground. Instantaneously the lava floor turned into solid hard rock, leaving Natsu exposed for his follow up attack.

"Iron Rock Fist!" Jura created a fist the size of a house from stone and it slammed into Natsu before he had a chance to do more than hold his arms out to shield the blow.

Jura's rock fist began pushing Natsu towards the back wall, but when Natsu got his footing, he held back the fist, keeping it from driving him back in an insane display of physical strength.

"Nice shot Jura, but I got one better, Fire Dragon's Ignition!" Natsu compressed his magic through his hands and into the rock fist, which began cracking in Natsu's hands. Then the entire structure exploded, showering both mages with a hail of sharp rocks.

"It would seem so, your abilities have not been overstated like some believe, I believe it is time to kick things up a notch." Jura said, eyeing the dragon slayer with respect.

"I couldn't agree more." Natsu and leapt into action, moving at a blur to the untrained eye. Only the S-class mages and above in attendance could watch him and almost none of them could keep up if they tried.

Natsu jumped directly into close combat with Jura, throwing fire coated punches and kicks in seemingly sporadic movements, but each was carefully planned.

Jura was hard pressed to keep up with the speed and pure destructive firepower the dragon slayer was attacking with. Jura had coated himself in a layer of pure rock to try and lessen the damage of the blows, but even a glancing hit from one of Natsu's punches tore pieces of armor from his body.

"Rock Mountain!" Jura called shielding himself from Natsu's barrage, halting Natsu in his tracks.

"So this is your ultimate defense Jura, let's see how it does against this." Natsu said, catching his breath momentarily before launching himself at Jura.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art, Crimson Lotus, EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!" Natsu's spell exploded around him and the whole crowd could feel the heat of the spell despite the enhanced barriers. Natsu released his spell and it crashed into Jura's Rock mountain. The two powerful spells battled for a moment, each mage pushing themselves into the attack until the Rock Mountain began to crumble and melt.

With a final yell of effort, Natsu smashed through Jura's defense completely, hitting the wizard saint.

As the smoke cleared, Natsu stood strong, watching the last remains of the Rock Mountain crumble. When the smoke was gone, Jura was still standing, covered in burns and panting, but still standing.

"Well done Natsu, that's the first time anyone has broken through my Rock Mountain, but that's to be expected from Fiore's most destructive mage, who once destroyed a mountain range." Jura said and Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I didn't mean to destroy the whole thing." he said and Jura laughed.

"He did WHAT!" Makarov yelled from his seat, watching with wide eyes. As far as he knew, only Gildarts could destroy entire mountain by himself on accident, a whole range was ridiculous. MAkarov could only weep as he thought how much Natsu would destroy on missions.

"Well Natsu, I managed to survive your secret art, let's see how you handle this." Jura said, making a clapping motion with his hands.

"Supreme King Rock Crush!" Boulders came flying from all directions at Natsu, who grinned in anticipation.

"Didn't want to reveal this too soon, but against a wizard saint, it was inevitable." Natsu said as the boulders crushed around him, making a mountain of rocks where Natsu was.

Jura watched the pile carefully, as did the rest of the crowd. After a few second, fire began creeping out from between the boulders and pooled together, forming the Fire dragon slayer, made of pure fire.

"Fire Drive, Fire Form." Natsu said, staying in his transformation.

"Well done Natsu, I would have never guessed you had something like that in your arsenal."  
Jura congratulated the mage who gave a flaming grin.

"It always pays to have a few tricks up your sleeve, now how about we kick this up a notch." Natsu said, flaring more fire around him, making him look like a living inferno.

"I agree, I only hope they can keep the stadium in one piece." Jura agreed, glowing with a yellow rust aura. Both of their magical power was suffocating the crowd as they faced down.

"And time's up, the result is a draw!" Mato called from his hiding place, making the audience shout complaints.

"Well, maybe another time then Natsu." Jura said, letting his aura fade away.

"I'm holding you too that baldy." Natsu said, shaking Jura's hand.

"And there you have it folks, the end of day one of the Grand Magic Games. And here are the standings."

Sabertooth-20pts

Raven Tail-16pts

Fairy Tail B-13pts

Crime Sorciere-12pts

Lamia Scale- 9pts

Mermaid Heel- 3pts

Quatro Cerberus- 1pts

Fairy Tail A- 0pts

"And there you have it, after day one, Sabertooth has the top ranking, followed closely by Raven Tail. Poor Fairy Tail A has no points." Mato yelled, bringing a scowl to Gray, Erza, and Gajeel's faces and tears from Lucy.

That night in the Honey Bone Inn, Fairy Tail was torn between celebrating its success with the B team, or drinking away the shame the A team brought.

"I don't care what the event is tomorrow, I'm entering." Gajeel growled out, glaring at the rest of his team, challenging them to question him.

"Fine, just be sure to win." Erza agreed and Gray nodded, distractedly. He kept glancing over at the side room Porlyusica was using as an infirmary where both Juvia and Wendy lay injured.

"What I want to know is what happened during Juvia's match, she had that Flare chick then her spell just vanished." Gray complained

"Yeah, and what are we going to do now that we have exhausted our reserve player and are down to four, does that mean we are disqualified?" Lucy asked, qualing at the thought.

"I've got answers for both of those questions." a voice came from the entrance as Harry and Meredy walked in.

"Harry, good to see you again." Makarov greeted with a drunken wave.

"You too old man, I've got a few questions for you later about Raven Tail, but I'll ask later." Harry told the old man, who nodded, serious despite his drunkenness.

"You said you know what happened to Juvia?" Gray pressed, turning on the boy who was now both older and slightly taller than him.

"Cool off lover boy and put your shirt on, I have a theory about happened to your girlfriend, but no proof." Harry said, drawing laughter from the whole guild at his comments about Gray's relationship with Juvia.

"I'm just worried about a guild member is all." he grumbled, but blushed lightly, which he hoped no one picked up on. Unfortunately for him, his flame brained rival picked up on it right away and smirked, filing the information away for later taunting.

"During her fight with Raven Tail, Juvia's magic suddenly left her body, like her magic container sprung a leak, at the same time, someone applied a counter magic to her spell, rendering it useless. The only thing we noticed out of the ordinary was the Raven Tail master signalling for the blue one, Obra, to do something, and he tapped his cane on the ground. While they probably did cheat, we can't prove it, but we will be keeping an eye on them." Meredy explained, drawing a growl from Gray.

"Hey B team, if one of you guys wind up in a match with Raven Tail, kick their ass." he yelled over to the other team and Laxus smirked.

"We'll be sure of it loverboy." he said and Gray's head fell, complaining about teasing dragon slayers.

"As for your other problem, you would normally be disqualified, but we can help, where are your injured members?" Harry asked, letting Erza lead him into the infirmary.

Harry quickly looked over both Wendy and Juvia, who were both unconscious and nodded to Meredy, who prepared to cast her spell.

"I was right, someone nearly drained their magic cores completely, I'm actually surprised they are in as good of shape as they are." Harry said when he had finished his analysis.

"Of course they are in good shape stupid human, I'm here." Porlyusica said, smacking Harry over the head with a mop.

"I can fix up their magic cores, but one of you will need to pour their magic into them to get them at full strength. It would leave you drained, but you'd all be fine tomorrow. Well, Juvia would still need to sit out because of her burns, but she'll be fine with time." Harry explained and Gray and Natsu instantly volunteered to give magic to Juvia and Wendy respectively.

"Ok, Harry, do your thing then I'll fix them up." Meredy said, linking herself to both Natsu and Gray, who glanced at the green mark with interest.

"Got it." Harry said as he walked over to Wendy and then Juvia, breathing out a green mist onto each of them. As he did so, color returned to both of their faces.

"There, they both will heal on their own with time now, but Meredy can speed up the process." Harry said, panting lightly. Repairing someone's magic core without damaging it was harder than it sounded.

"You two ready, I'm going to link you to Wendy and Juvia respectively, then you just pour your magic into them carefully, don't put in too much though, going overboard could hurt them by accident." Meredy warned and matching symbols appeared on Wendy and Juvia and Natsu and Gray began to pour their magic into the duo until their magic was full.

Juvia stayed asleep, but Wendy got up with a long yawn.

"What happened, Carla?" Wendy shot up, not noticing her already recovered exceed friend was sleeping near her feet.

"You ok Wendy?" Natsu asked, steadying the girl, who nodded after she had gotten her bearings.

"Yeah, what happened, I was in the garden with Carla, then I felt something in the air, a dark magic signature, then nothing." Wendy said in a small voice. Harry nodded to Meredy, it had to be Zeref's signature, and it looked like it was somehow tied to Raven Tail.

"Well, we just finished the first day of the games, Juvia got hurt so we need you ready to fight, are you prepared?" Erza asked the young girl, a dark look in her eyes daring the sky dragon slayer to challenge her request/order.

"Nope, I'm good to go." Wendy said quickly, nodding very fast as everyone else sweatdropped at Erza's question.

"If that's all, Meredy and I have to go have a word with Makarov, good luck tomorrow, all of you." And with that, Harry and Meredy left the infirmary.

"Makarov, would you be so kind as to meet with our Guildmaster, she probably wouldn't be received well by some of your mages so she asked if I could get you to visit her." Harry asked, noticing Makarov lost his drunken look at the request.

"Can I bring Erza along, she has some reservations about your guild having former dark mages and this would be a good chance for her to get to know your new guild better.

"She seemed fine fine me." Meredy said, striking sa thinking pose, and Makarov's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you were a part of a dark guild?" he asked, looking at Meredy, who wore a pair of black earmuffs and a blue cape over a red dress.

"Yeah, Harry, Luna, Neville, and Hermione are the only ones in the guild who weren't once convicted criminals, although two were framed and sent to prison without trials, so I don't know if they count." Meredy, watching with a smirk as Makarov's eye twitched.

"What she fails to mention is that there are only eight people in our guild, counting our master, which means only Meredy and our Master were ever actually a part of a dark guild." Harry said, enjoying Makarov's comical expression.

"Brats, making me worried like that." Makarov grumbled. "Erza, come with me, I'm going to meet with the master of Crime Sorciere." Makarov called and Erza came out of the infirmary and the four left the Inn.

"Here, the Rose Thorn Inn." Meredy stopped at an inn a few blocks away from where Fairy Tail was staying.

Inside was mostly filled with regular mages and citizens, enjoying the replays on the lacrima screen. Harry and Meredy led Makarov and a cautious Erza up into a private room, where four mages were waiting.

"Hello Makarov, Erza, nice to see you." Ultear said from a leather chair, Neville, Luna, and Hermione all watching the interactions carefully.

"You were a part of Grimoire Heart." Erza stated bluntly, watching her bluntly.

"I did a lot worse than that, I would like to apologize to you Erza Scarlet, for the pain I have personally caused you." Ultear told the knight mage, bowing deeply, Makarov watched the whole thing carefully, as did Harry.

"I fail to see why you find the need to apologize to me personally, the whole guild suffered because of your old guild." Erza said, hand twitching as if she was holding one of her swords.

"True, but that wasn't what I was talking about. Grimoire Heart was responsible for the R-system project, a project we deemed as a failure except for one tower, the Tower of Heaven, to ensure the project went to plan, I was to use possession magic on the one with the most potential there, instead of one of the cultists, that turned out to be one Jellal Fernandes. Everything he did in the tower was at my command, and for that, I bear my throat to you." Ultear raised her head and left her throat exposed to Erza, who was watching Ultear in shock, her words processing in the knight mages mind.

"Jellal is dead because of your doing, the council executed him." Erza stated, fixing an empty glare on Ultear. "I will not continue a cycle of revenge and death, I will never forgive you, but I will not kill you." Erza said, her voice lacking her usual fire.

"That would be a small fabrication though, while I knew he was innocent and I told the council so, the people of Fiore didn't. So the council staged a false execution for him, with a little persuasion on our part, and he was released and became a part of our guild." Ultear said, Erza's gaze snapping towards her instantly.

"Where is he." she said, her tone full of emotion.

"He should be here shortly, there is a reason our guild entered this year, and it isn't for the prize money. I'll let Harry explain though, he's the leader more than I am, he just refuses to take the role of guild master." Ultear said, waving a hand towards Harry who was scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly, a tic he had picked up from Natsu.

"Every year at these games, a strange magic signature has been picked up, we think the same one Wendy mentioned, but as we weren't there to sense it, we can't be sure, but it matches a signature both Ultear and Natsu have felt before, on Tenrou Island, Zeref's." Harry said, letting Makarov and Erza absorb the information, serious expressions on their faces.

"What we've been trying to do is find the source of this magic, Zeref, so we can kill him." MEredy said, drawing looks of shock from Erza and Makarov.

"Zeref is the most powerful mage in history, the only beings said to have enough power to kill him are Acnologia himself and the demon END, both of which are evil and would probably side with Zeref." Makarov warned, Harry shrugged in response.

"Acnologia is a recluse and no one has caught hide nor hair of the demon king in over 400 years, if they show up we'll figure something out, until then, we are focusing on Zeref. Jellal and the last member of our guild have been out and about in the city, keeping an eye and ear out for the signature. I would like to request your aid if we get any leads." Harry asked and Makarov nodded.

"Even if you weren't once a part of our guild Fairy Tail will always fight the good fight, hopefully nothing too big is destroyed though." Makarov agreed and shook Harry's hand firmly.

"With that out of the way, you two can come now." Meredy said and a man in robes with a face mask and a large black dog with streaks of gray entered through the window.

"Mystogan?" Makarov asked, surprised.

"Not quite, from what I hear my Edolas counterpart was quite gifted with hiding, so dressing like him would make it less likely I was discovered." Jellal siad, removing the cowl from his face, staring Erza directly in the eye.

"Erza, I'm…" Jellal wasn't allowed to finish as Erza decked him in the face with an armored fist, quickly drawing a sword from her requip space.

"If you ever try and be a self sacrificing idiot again I am going to remove something very important to you, got that?" Erza growled out, pointing her sword lower than Jellal's throat.

"Crystal." he said, a terrified look in his eyes.

"Good." and with that Erza threw her sword aside and tackled Jellal with a hug, her face pressed into his chest.

"It's good to see you too Erza." Jellal said, softly hugging his old friend. The whole time this was happening the dog was rolling around on the floor, almost like it was dying of laughter.

"Oh shut up you old mutt." Meredy said, lightly kicking the dog, who turned into a salt and pepper haired man in his early 40s, still laughing.

"I can't help it, big bad Jellal, terrified by a girl." Sirius laughed and Erza quickly turned her glare on the man, who only seemed slightly afraid.

"You will stop now before I neuter you." Erza threatened and that shut Sirius right up.

"What is it with redheads, always so aggressive." Sirius grumbled.

"Did you say something?" Erza asked from her seat on top of Jellal, not realizing the position they were in.

"Just commenting on how comfortable you look there." Sirius said with a mischievous grin. It took Erza seconds to realize herself, her face turned the same shade as her hair and she left off Jellal with a small shriek.

Laughter filled the room at Erza's expense as she recovered and Harry smacked the man across the back of the head.

"This would be my godfather Sirius, out infiltration specialist." Harry said grinning at the man he had grown to see as his father.

"Well, if the shenanigans are out of the way, Jellal report." Ultear drew everyone back to the reason they were there, Zeref.

"We did pick up the signature while Natsu and Jura were fighting, it was redirecting the magic that hit the barrier away somewhere, we don't know where though. From this and similar events like in the past, we think the games are an excuse for magic power to be collected, mass amounts of it." Jellal said.

"We know the kingdom sponsors the event, but we doubt the royal family has anything to do with it, most likely an underling of theirs. I can try to get into the castle if you want, but I wasn't going to try without your permission." Sirius said seriously.

"Do it, Jellal, you look around Raven Tail, they're up to something for sure, try and dig up something on that Obra guy, record his signature if you can, After that keep an eye on Sabertooth, we doubt they have anything to do with it, but I'm certain they have dark secrets they are hiding." Harry said, getting nods from the two infiltrators.

"About Raven Tail, I have an agent working on the inside, not an official member, but one of mine who Raven thinks is a spy for them." Makarov said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ultear.

"You knew they were up to something for a while now, what tipped them off, besides being the only dark guild not under the Balam alliance?" Ultear asked, tilting her head slightly.

"My son Ivan is their master, I know what they are after, but I'm not at the liberty to share completely. All I will say is they must never reach their goal." Makarov said gravely and Harry nodded.

"If your agent still has an in with them get them to use it, we can try to force Raven Tail to play their hand early, before the end of the games." Harry said, getting a nod from Makarov.

"If that's all we'll see you tomorrow, good luck in the games." Makarov said as he left, Erza hugging Jellal one left time and glaring at Sirius, daring him to say something. All the man child did was wave cheekily.

"So, who's competing for us tomorrow?" Sirius asked, smiling at the team, "I want to know how to bet."

 **Long but hopefully good. I left Natsu and Jura's fight a draw because while Natsu IS stronger, he'd wind up destroying the arena, which wouldn't be good on the first day. Chariot in the next chapter, will be shorter, but the battles the chapter will be longer and epic.**

 **I am loving all the support from everyone, seeing my inbox flooded with favs and follows after posting each chapter making writing more enjoyable.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	32. Chapter 32

**I don't own FT or HP**

"Welcome to the second day of the Grand Magic Games!" Mato called, his pumpkin head stretched in a large smile.

"I'm sure the action yesterday has left everyone wanting more, so today's event has already started!" Mato called, directing the focus of the crowd to the large projections already on in the arena.

"Today's event is called Chariot, where the competitors race across the tops of the moving platforms to reach our magnificent arena!" Mato explained

"You know Erza, maybe it wasn't the best idea to let Gajeel compete." Lucy said to the weapon mage, whose eye was twitching as the image of a motion sick Gajeel was displayed on the screen.

"True, but our B team is doing well and sending Gajeel made Saber send one of their slayers, ensuring they don't get any points either." Gray said, pointing out that Rogue from Sabertooth was having just as much trouble as Gajeel, both were tied for last.

"True, although Elfman has his hands full with the two from Crime Sorciere and Raven Tail." Erza agreed.

"I fought Meredy back on Tenrou, she was good then, and she's tied for first now without using any magic. Both Elfman and that Kurohebi guy are using magic to keep up with her." Wendy added, fresh after Harry's healing and a good night's rest.

"I don't think any of them are going to win though, Bacchus entered today, as much as I'd rather not admit it, every time we have fought in the past, it resulted in a tie." Erza said, pointing out the half-asleep mage from Quatro Cerberus.

"A guy as strong as Erza, please tell me he isn't as crazy as her." Lucy whimpered, and Gray shook his head.

"He goes by the Drunken Falcon and could probably out drink Cana, he's anything but normal." Gray told Lucy, which made her groan and cover her face with her hands, Wendy sympathetically patted her shoulder.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let Elfman compete?" Laxus asked the other two take over mages as he watched Elfman fight for first.

"If we didn't let him compete now, he'd just kick up a fuss later about not doing enough to contribute." Mira explained with a sighed.

"And it's better we let him compete now instead of later when the points could be crucial. Besides, he's doing well right now, second and third would be a very good showing." Lisanna said and Laxus just nodded, refocusing on the event.

Down on the chariots, three distinct packs of racers had formed. Leading was Elfman, Meredy, and Kurohebi. A little way behind them was Yuka of Lamia Scale, Risley of Mermaid Heel, and a half-asleep Bacchus. And way back in dead last was Gajeel and Rogue.

"I'm going to win this, LIKE A REAL MAN!" Elfman shouted as he took a slight lead on Kurohebi and Meredy. The final stretch came into view and all three mages upped their speed, Meredy still not using any magic.

"Did someone say man, I think this might not be as boring as I thought." Bacchus said, the glossed over look in his eyes fading as his gaze locked onto Elfman. "Let's get WILD!" he yelled and leapt forward, the cart he propelled himself from cracking from his raw strength.

Bacchus shot forward and nailed Elfman in the back, his hand covered in a thin layer of magic. Elfman gave a loud grunt of pain, turning to face his attacker when Kurohebi struck, sand swirling around him and wrapping around his back where Bacchus had struck him and squeezed.

Elfman gave a yell of pain as his already damaged back was crushed, several vertebrates in his back breaking under the pressure. Kurohebi then chucked Elfman off the chariots, where he landed with a loud crash, unmoving.

"And Elfman Strauss of Fairy Tail B has been eliminated from the event after being struck by both Bacchus and Kurohebi! His team will receive no points." Mato called as Bacchus had taken off again, leaving Kurohebi and Meredy behind him as he crossed the finish line with a wild expression on his face, ignoring the vicious glares both Mira and Lisanna were sending him.

Kurohebi crossed second with Meredy right behind him taking third. Risley took fourth and Yuka wound up fifth, leaving Gajeel and Rouge to take sixth and seventh respectively.

There you have it folks, after out second event the standings are

Raven Tail- 24 pts

Sabertooth- 21 pts

Crime Sorciere- 18 pts

Fairy Tail B- 13 pts

Lamia Scale- 12 pts

Quatro Cerberus- 11 pts

Mermaid Heel- 7 pts

Fairy Tail A- 1 pts

"At least our A team has points now." Makarov said as he saw the standings, flinching.

"Meredy didn't try, I've seen her run faster than that for longer." Ultear said offhandedly to the short master of Fairy Tail.

"I can only hope that the battles go better and that Elfman isn't hurt too badly." Makarov said, glaring at both Bacchus and Kurohebi, a vengeful light in his eyes.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about the battles third, the guild always fights hardest when fighting for their guild mates." the specter form of first master Mavis said to Makarov, surprising him enough that he did a spit take with his beer.

"First master, I thought you couldn't leave Tenrou, and can everyone see you?" Makarov asked the childlike first, who just smiled at him.

"Only those with the Fairy Tail mark can see me, and it got bored on that stuffy island, so I left." Mavis said brightly, making Makarov slam his face into the railing near his seat.

As a break was taken in between matches, Elfman was taken to Porlyusica, his siblings carrying him.

"Bring the boy here, I'll look at him." Porlyusica said with a sighed, glaring at the two uninjured takeover siblings.

"But he's our brother, we're not leaving until we know he's going to be alright." Lisanna insisted

"I've nearly lost a sibling once and I won't let it happen again, get to work old woman." Mira added, a demonic presence filling the air around her. Porlyusica didn't even flinch under the glare of the two pissed women.

"I saw what happened, that kind of crushing force directly after he took a bone breaking hit, he'll be lucky if his back is only minorly broken, if he's unlucky, it will be years before he'll be able to walk properly again." Porlyusica said bluntly, letting her words sink in.

"Bacchus took a cheap shot, but it was still a part of the game, Kurohebi was completely out of line." Mira growled as she watched the pained expression on her brother's face.

"If either of us get to fight either of them, we crush them." Lisanna agreed, her normally happy face set in a grim expression. As they say, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and that applied especially so if you hurt her family.

 **Switch POV**

Harry sat with his team and godfather in dog form as they waited for the next round to start. Sirius had snuck around and managed to get the listing for the upcoming matches. He would be fighting one of the Sabertooth mages and Harry was determined to win.

He was more worried about Elfman, who had been scheduled to fight, but that was set to change. Cana was filling in for him on the B team as Elfman was too injured to participate. It was almost for Harry to use what information Jellal had gotten on Raven Tail and use it to get them disqualified, but it would be better to wait, play with their cards close to the chest so to speak.

"So Meredy, any reason you didn't use any magic today?" Hermione asked Meredy, who was seated beside Harry.

"There wasn't a reason for me to, remember, we're not here to win. Keeping my magic a secret for now will make fights in the future easier." Meredy said and Harry grumbled slightly, while he knew there was no need to win, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

"Harry, you got a plan for today? You're scheduled to be the last fight, which means the biggest spectacle, and using your god slayer magic would bring us so many legal problems." Neville asked Harry.

"I'm just going to stick with lightning magic, if that's not enough, I'll figure something out, maybe fall back onto wand magic." Harry said, requipping his wand into his hand and spinning idly.

"That reminds me, we still have to give Makarov and Freed the wands that resonated with them." Meredy said, requipping the two wands into her hand.

"I can do that during the fights." Luna said airily, plucking the two wands from Meredy's hands. "And remember this Harry, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but isn't a duck, call it a duck." and with that the blonde skipped away, Sirius trailing her in dog form after he rolled his eyes.

"Well, when I figure out what that means I'm sure it will be most helpful." Harry said, already puzzling Luna's words.

"She is quite possibly the smartest person I've ever met, but she can be so odd." Hermione agreed and Meredy laughed.

"If stories are to be believed, the first master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermillion, was just like her.

"If there winds up being two childish blondes with IQ points higher than the rest of us combined, I quit." Neville said dryly, drawing laughs from his teammates.

Harry savored this moment with his team and friends, mentally preparing himself for the coming storm.

 **Way to short after way to long, but my holidays were crazy busy and right after that, I had one week to prepare for midterms, which meant relearning everything I had forgotten over break, it sucked. But I'm free now which means that posting should go back to a regular schedule of at least one chapter a week, but there may be more if I manage it.**

 **Next chapter will have some good fight, two pretty much canon and two cranked up to an eleven. Elfman won't be fighting Bacchus obviously, but one of his sisters will, if you want to give me flack over this, whatever. I've always found Elfman to be a one-dimensional character, good comic relief, but not a main character.**

 **Favs, follows, and comments are welcome and enjoyed.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	33. Chapter 33

**I don't own FT or HP**

"If everyone has settled down after that wild competition, we'll begin with the battles for the day!" Mato called, his wide eyes staring out at the crowd.

"Our first match up, we have the lovely Miss Arana Webb from Mermaid Heel facing Kurohebi of Raven Tail!" Mato called as both the named wizards made their way onto the field. Arana looked warily at Kurohebi, whose black slitted eyes were alite with malice. Arana flexed silently as she watched her opponent, remembering how easily he had injured the much larger Elfman.

"BEGIN!" Mato called and Arana shot into action.

"Thread magic, Web shot!" she called and thick strands of spider web shot from both of her hands, but Kurohebi danced through the webs with the grace of a dancer.

Arana kept up the intensity of her shots, but she was beginning to pant as she began to run low on magic. All the while, Kurohebi simply weaved his way through the webbing that was now covering most of the field.

As if planned, Arana and Kurohebi both stopped dead, the entire field around them had been turned into one large spider's web, the sticky material surrounding both mages in all directions.

"Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." Arana said, a slightly tired smile forming on her face as she pulled a pair of brass knuckles from her pouch, watching the still smiling Kurohebi carefully as she jumped onto one of her webs and took off on all fours at the Raven Tail mage, a spider approaching the prey she had caught.

"The poor little spider, doesn't even know that she caught a snake." Kurohebi said, his smile stretching even farther across his face.

Kurohebi leapt backwards as Arana sprang at him, each of her blows swiftly dodged by Kurohebi. This continued for several minutes as Arana used the webbing to try and strike at Kurohebi, who displayed ridiculous reflexes as he never let Arana or her web touch him.

"I've seen enough, I think I'll end this now." Kurohebi said with a low dark laugh and sprang forward, catching Arana off guard as he used her webbing much the way she did.

Arana held off Kurohebi's blows desperately, but she was quickly overwhelmed and was struck several times unrelentingly.

"What magic is he using, he turned the tables so suddenly?" Lucy asked Erza, who was watching the matchup closely.

"I've heard stories of this magic, but never thought I'd get to see it. This is mimic magic. By observing a type of magic extensively and developing an understanding of it, a mimic mage can then use that magic perfectly, sometimes even better than the original user." Erza explained, her eyes never leaving the cruel Raven Tail mage.

"Mimic magic was a lost magic back when I founded the guild, for him to have mastered it means he is highly skilled." Mavis stated seriously from beside Makarov, who was frowning at the match.

"I love that look on your face, that look of pure desperation, it makes me feel alive." Kurohebi said, his face twisted in a dark smile that promised pain. "But I've had my fun, I think I'll end this now." And with that he sprang into action.

"Sand razor!" The sand on the field sprang to life, shredding the web that covered the field and tearing into Arana, making her scream as the gritty blades dug into her skin and shredded her cloths.

When Kurohebi ended his spell, he quickly blasted Arana with her own web shot, leaving her pinned to the wall of the arena, exposed, bleeding, and barely conscious.

"And the winner is Kurohebi, who takes ten points for Raven Tail, securing their lead!" Mato called, his smile never leaving his face despite the cruel display. Kurohebi took a bow even as almost half the crowd booed him as he walked back to his team.

Kagura leapt down from the Mermaid Heel section and swiftly cut Arana down, covering her with her blazer. Kagura was glaring at the whole Raven Tail team, her eyes promising pain to all of them as she wordlessly guided the injured and beaten Arana back to their team to be treated.

"Our next matchup, between our two youngest competitors, Wendy Marvell of Fairy Tail A and Sherria Blendy of Lamia Scale!" Mato announced after the remains of the webbing was removed from the field.

"Alright!" Sherria, a young pink haired girl with short pigtails yelled, hopping down the stairs from the Lamia team section.

"I'm going to earn us our first win, count on it." Wendy said with conviction to the rest of her team as she made her way into the arena.

As both girls entered though, they both tripped on the last step and fell on their faces.

"This doesn't bode well." Erza said, rubbing her temples with an armored hand.

"At least her opponent tripped too." Lucy tried to be optimistic, but her words didn't reflect on her true feelings.

"Go get em Wendy, you got this!" Natsu called down to the young dragon slayer as she picked herself up off the ground.

Wendy gave Natsu a smile as she lined up opposite Sherria, who smiled and waved cheerily. Wendy let out a breath she had been holding, at least she wouldn't be facing a crazy mage like Kurohebi.

"If both mages are ready, BEGIN!" MAto called and Wendy flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding a punch from Sherria where she had once stood.

"Enchant, Arms x Vernier." Wendy said, enchanting herself with her magic, letting the enhancements to her speed and power take hold before she took off towards Sherria, who was rushing forwards to meet her.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy called, her magic forming a pair of light blue wings behind her and slamming them both down onto Sherria.

"Sky God's Dance." Sherria countered, using her own brand of sky magic to seamlessly weave through Wendy's blows before landing a spinning kick into the young dragon slayer's jaw.

Wendy landed on her back, but quickly rolled to her feet fast enough to dodge a wind empowered punch from Sherria before she began her counter attack, landing a punch to Sherria's gut.

"This is quite evenly matched, it will come down to an x factor." Harry said as he watched the two young sky wizards clash, his eyes following their every movement.

"You mean like Sherria eating one of Wendy's attacks?" Meredy asked, but Harry shook his head.

"God slayers can consume dragon slayer attacks, but it doesn't refuel them, just counters it, there also isn't time to eat the attacks at close range, so unless Wendy tries a roar and something similar, that won't be a factor, I was referring to Wendy's confidence, if she allows herself to become shaken, she will lose, if she stays fighting at the top of her game, she'll win. Sherria is a constant here, unlike most mages in Fairy Tail." Harry said, analysing the fight completely down to the smallest detail, even accounting for the unexplainable Fairy Tail factor.

"Come on Wendy, show them the strength of a dragon!" Natsu called down to Wendy, whose features hardened as she prepared her next spell.

"Sky Dragon's ROAR!"

"Sky God's BELLOW!"

Wendy and Sherria attacked each other with walls of unrelenting force, the light blue and black blasts of wind meeting between them, evenly matched.

As the breath attacks dispersed and the smoke cleared, Wendy leapt back into combat with Sherria, one arm and one leg encased in spirals of magic.

Sherria met Wendy blow for blow, each strike creating a blast of wind that swept across the arena. Wendy used her sky covered arm to knock Sherria's guard up and spun, using the momentum to smash her enhanced leg into Sherria's gut, sending the slightly older mage into a wall.

Wendy let the wind around her two limbs disperse as both sky mages panted and faced each other down.

"Lyon told me there was a sky mage in Fairy Tail, but I never thought you'd be this good." Sherria panted out, rubbing her bruised ribs.

"I had a good teacher." Wendy said, jerking her head towards a smirking Natsu.

"Natsu, when did you find the time to train Wendy?" Mira asked the fire mage, who had told the others he had been on jobs the whole three months they had been training.

"I kidnapped her from Erza's bootcamp, dragon slayers need a different kind of training to get strong fast, and dodging flying swords is not it." Natsu said, shrugging, ignoring Erza's glare.

"What could she learn with you that I couldn't teach her?" Erza asked Natsu, her glare boring into him.

"How to use her element properly, which comes from a deep understanding of it, with her being so young, her dragon Grandeeney never had the time to teach her properly like Gajeel and I learned." Natsu answered, Erza glanced at Gajeel who nodded.

"Salamander's right, sure the strength is great, but the true power of a dragon slayer lies in their element, its why Acnologia is so powerful, he IS the apocalypse, he embodies it in every form of the word, combined with the raw magic behind that and you get an unbeatable monster." Gajeel said, making all the Fairy Tail mages shudder at the memory of the Black Dragon.

Back on the field, both Wendy and Sherria were taking deep breaths, standing up straighter than before.

"So what did Wendy learn exactly?" Lucy asked, Gajeel, who was watching both the field and Natsu, answered.

"Given Salamander's smirk, I'd say he taught her at least one secret art, although how he knew a sky dragon one I don't know." Gajeel grunted and Lucy almost fainted. She had seen Natsu destroy city blocks with his secret arts, Wendy knowing a spell of that caliber seemed like overkill.

"Not just that, out of all the dragon slayers, I'd say Wendy could fight the longest out of all of us." Natsu said, nodding down to the field, where both Wendy and Sherria looked good as new.

"What happened, both of them were dead on the feet a minute ago!" Gray asked, staring at the two rejuvenated girls who began to cross fists once again.

"I think I understand it." Erza said, watching Wendy and Sherria carefully. "All slayers can consume their own element because there is innate magic in the elements, meaning they can't consume their own magic, just others. In a fight, the excess magic from attacks disperses, it disperses into the air. Meaning that as long as her opponent is attacking with magic, a sky slayer could fight indefinitely, just by eating the air around the battlefield." Erza said, everyone's jaw fell open at this.

"Exactly, sky magic doesn't have much raw power, but it has a million uses. If one strategy doesn't work, just recharge and try a new one. With time and practice, we could be watching the future most powerful mages in all of Fiore." Natsu agreed as Wendy and Sherria both backed off to eat again, each sucking in large quantities of air.

"Well, Natsu does have it right, and I really don't want my guild to have to settle for another draw due to time limit, what do you say about one more final spell?" Sherria asked Wendy

"Sounds good, we need the points, and while I might not like fighting, I'll win this, for my guild!"

With this declaration, both girls began to charge up large spells, the raw magic in the air nearing the casual power Natsu and Jura had thrown around the day before.

"Sky God Secret Art Heavenly Gathering of Clouds!"

"Sky Dragon Secret Art Shattering Light: SKY DRILL!"

Sherria's spell formed behind her, her purple/black sky magic forming a massive pair of formless wings. Sherria used both her arms and thrust them forward, the mass of magic behind her surged forward matching her motion like a wild battering ram of power.

Wendy's spell formed as a twister of bright blue/white magic around her reaching high up beyond the top of the stadium. With her arms out, Wendy spun and the gathered energy shot forward like a cannon shot, twisting and pointed.

The two collided and held for a brief second before the spinning sensation of Wendy's drill forced its way through the mass of magic Sherria had shot forward, splitting the wave down the middle as the drill continued forward.

Sherria could only watch as her ace spell was torn in half and the offending spell slammed into her chest, sending her spinning and flying back into the wall of the arena, several ribs breaking on impact.

Wendy fared better than her opponent. Her drill splitting the incoming wave in half meant she could just allow the sky magic to crash into the wall on either side of her, completely destroying those sections of wall.

"And the winner is Wendy Marvell, 10 points to Fairy Tail A!" Mato announced and the stadium erupted into cheers. Wendy took several deep breaths and walked over to Sherria, who was on all fours, trying to heal her injured ribs.

"Let me help you with that." Wendy insisted and breathed a soft gust of healing magic onto the other girl, who inhaled some of the mist.

In a matter of seconds Sherria was able to stand without assistance and shook hands with Wendy.

"That was a good fight, I wouldn't mind sparring with you some time, friends?" Sherria asked, tilting her head slightly. Wendy smiled and nodded happily. The crowd roaring in approval at the good sportsmanship.

"That was a good fight, Wendy has gotten really good, but that other girl seemed similar somehow." Lucy said, studying Sherria.

"Did you see that cousin, I fought for love!" Sherria cheered and Lucy's face met the floor.

"Oh, that's where." she said, her voice muffled by the ground while the rest of her team welcomed Wendy back.

"Good job kid, Salamander trained you good." Gajeel complimented, ruffling Wendy's hair. She brushed his hand off and smiled happily.

"Yeah, and while I might not fully embrace the offensive powers sky and wind magic can control, NAtsu did point out it was more than just healing. The vastness of the sky is second to none, it extends everywhere, and so should my strength." Wendy said and Gray chuckled.

"So old flame brain is spitting out proverbs now, guess I should start calling him an old man." Gray joked and Wendy shook her head.

"Not really, he just asked me what I ate to refuel while we were training. He then drove me into the ground for a week straight, making me have to use the sky to refuel." Wendy said, fondly remembering her training with her older brother figure.

"So Natsu kept a fire going for himself?" Lucy asked and Wendy shook her head.

"He didn't need to refuel once, he said he was testing his own stamina" Wendy told her and everyone fell down at that.

"Overkill flame brain, overkill." Gray said from his spot on the floor. Natsu laughed, his enhanced hearing picking up the entire conversation.

"Our third match, Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail B vs Bacchus of Quatro Cerberus!" Mato called.

Mira's sweet smile stretched across her face, making the rest of Fairy Tail shudder.

Bacchus ran into the arena, a wild look on his face and a gourd at his hip.

"Well well, the demon herself, this is gonna be wild!" Bacchus laughed, his eyes twitching and his hand ghosting near his gourd. "What do you say to a wager princess, if I win, you and your sister spend the night with me?" Bacchus asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

The flare of magic that erupted from Natsu made those near him begin to sweat, the pure heat emanating off him combined with the scowl and glare would made a lesser man pass out.

"I can't speak for my sister, but I'll take the bet. But if you lose, your guild name is changed to Quatro Puppy for the rest of the tournament and you have to wait on me hand and foot for the rest of the competition." Mira shot back, the sickly sweet smile still on her face.

"See Natsu, Mira is going to humiliate him, no need to get worked up." Lisanna calmed her angry mate, who just grunted and reigned in his magic.

"You got a deal, not like you stand a chance after being stuck for seven years." Bacchus gloated, getting into his drunken fist stance.

"You really should prepare yourself, I may have been out of commision for a little while, but my sister got me back into shape." Mira said, her tone somehow becoming even sweeter. "I would like to apologize to you though master, I'm going to be breaking one of your rules, Natsu can handle things if they get too out of control." Mira said, her eyes darkening. MAkarov paled, he only had one rule for Mira, never use THAT takeover.

"If the bets are in, BEGIN!" Mato called, signalling Bacchus to rush forward madly.

"Oh well, I did warn you." Mira said, her sweet smile turning dark.

"Takeover: Satan Soul HALPHAS!"

Dark energy exploded around Mira, kicking up a dust storm. When it cleared, Mira's arms and legs were covered in light blue scales and a tail of the same color grew from her lower back. A pair of wings made of the same blue scales formed from her shoulder blades and large horns came from her temples.

"Goodbye little dog." Mira said, her voice tinged with darkness as Bacchus's wild strikes were all flawlessly deflected by Mira.

"EVIL EXPLOSION!" She yelled and released a bomb similar in magic power to what Natsu and Jura had been throwing around the previous day.

When the dust cleared, Bacchus was a burned mess at the bottom of a crater and Mira had let her takeover dispel.

"And that's why **no one** messes with my family." Mira said, walking calmly off the field.

"And that's a quick 10 points for Fairy Tail B! What a showing to keep Quatro Puppy from getting any more points today!" Mato announced, Mira's bet already coming into effect.

"Our final matchup for the day, Harry Potter of Crime Sorciere vs Orga Nanagear of Sabertooth!"

Harry calmly walked down into the arena. He had done his research on Orga, the lightning god slayer. That he was slated for the matchup meant that someone either had an inclination to his actual magic, which he had been sure to keep a secret among friends, and someone wanted to give Sabertooth an easy matchup, Harry was inclined to believe the second, but something in the back of his mind was telling him there was more to it than that, so he kept his guard up.

"You are strong Potter, I will be coming at you with everything I have." Orga stated, his face completely neutral.

"Well, at least this will be interesting." Harry said, rolling his shoulders, flashing a grin to MEredy who rolled her eyes.

"Begin!" Mato called and Harry quickly shot off a small bolt of green lightning at Orga, who swallowed it without a second thought.

"Well, I had to at least try." Harry said before turning to lightning to dodge the retaliatory blast of black and yellow tinged lightning.

This pattern continued as Harry danced his way around the arena, performing flips and running on walls, turning to lightning to keep away from Orga's blasts.

"Well, that was a good warm up, what do you say we kick things up a notch?" Harry asked Orga, neither mage even breathing heavy.

"Yes, let's see how much damage you can take." Orga said, raising his hand. "120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" he called, Harry just grinning and snapped his fingers, revealing a complex web made completely of runes spanning the arena. Orga's attack was diverted from its path and was drawn to one of several rune sets Harry had made that attract and contain lightning.

"Now neither of us can use lightning, seems more fair." Harry said, requipping his wand and sending off a spell chain towards Orga, who dodged quickly, but not using lightning to enhance his movements, in fear HE would be trapped by one of the runes.

"That boy is holding back, a lot." Mavis said to Makarov, who was watching the boy who had once been one of his strongest mages.

"And that is saying a lot. He's smart and easily low S class with his lightning alone, I don't know what he can actually do, but it's strong enough that Laxus has told me that he was easily on par with himself and Natsu." Makarov agreed.

"Harry just needs to work on calling his not duck a duck." Luna told Makarov as she skipped into the stands where Fairy Tail was sitting. She casually tossed what looked like sticks to Makarov and Freed before focusing on the fight again, giving a nod to Ultear.

Harry continued to fire off spells with the wand, relentless in his assault.

"ENOUGH, I will not lose to your tricks!" Orga yelled and began to discharge mass amounts of electricity. "Lightning God's OVERDRIVE!" Orga yelled and all the electricity in the whole arena drained into him, where he discharged it.

It was too much for the runes, which overloaded and let loose a series of electrical pulses knocking Harry into a wall. He got up quickly, but winced as he felt his ribs.

"He should be getting it just about now, what do you think first master?" Luna asked Mavis in the stands, causing everyone with a drink to do a spit take.

"How can you see me?" Mavis asked carefully, he tone no longer childish.

"I can't really, just your outline of pure fey magic." Luna said smiling and Mavis relaxed.

"Good to know someone appreciates my magic." Mavis laughed as the two quickly began a conversation that anyone listening would call insane. It centered on children's games, disembowelment, and made up creatures.

"What should Harry be getting?" Makarov asked, getting the attention of the two childish blonde geniuses.

"How to hide his duck of course." they said in sync, then continued their inane discussion.

Harry's head was swimming as he had to avoid another area blast from Orga, trying to think a way out of this. If he were fighting a dark mage, he would have no problem using his god slayer magic, but in front of the whole country, royal family, and the magic council, using death magic wasn't going to help. He needed to think of something different.

A quick glance up at the stands revealed Luna chatting with seemingly nothing, making her look crazy. With a flash of inspiration, Harry remembered what Luna had told him before, call it a duck.

"Drain God's BELLOW!" Harry stopped his dodging and nailed the surprised Orga in the chest, knocking him back into a wall.

"Another God slayer." Makarov muttered, his eyes watching carefully.

"I see what you meant Luna, that is a large duck." Mavis said with a light laugh as Luna nodded.

"What happened to my magic?" Orga asked, stumbling to his feet.

"I usually refrain from using my god slayer magic for a reason, as a drain god slayer, all of my attacks not only deal physical damage, but also drains magic from your core and gives it to me, I have to be careful because if I drain too much, You'll fall into a coma." Harry bullshitted, pretending he had gotten a boost. Orga was just lucky that calling his spell the wrong name seemed to have weakened it considerably, otherwise Orga might have been in serious danger.

"Well then, I'll just have to beat you before you can hit me aga-." Orga ground out, holding his chest gingerly, but was cut off

"Drain God's Skull Eater!" Harry shot forward before Orga had finished talking and slammed his head into his chest, the prolonged exposure draining Orga near zero, leaving him unconscious on the ground.

Harry raised his fist to the crowd and was met with a roar of cheers. Not using his full strength against a monstrously powerful S-class opponent that neutralized all but his most deadly spell, and coming out without any serious injury, Harry was quite pleased with himself.

"And Harry Potter wins in the battle of the Gods!" Mato called and the scoreboard displayed the results after two days.

Raven Tail- 34 pts

Crime Sorciere- 28 pts

Fairy Tail B- 23 pts

Sabertooth- 21 pts

Lamia Scale- 12 pts

Quatro Cerberus- 11 pts

Fairy Tail A- 11 pts

Mermaid Heel- 7 pts

"Newcomers Raven Tail and Crime Sorciere are at the top and top ranked Sabertooth has fallen to fourth. Get ready Fiore, because tomorrow, things are gonna get crazy!" Mato called and with that, the second day was over.

 **Whoo, that was fun. I've always thought Wendy and Sherria should be more powerful because the element they eat is literally everywhere, so I made them stronger. Both will have larger roles later, so look forward to it.**

 **Next time, Pandemonium meets Luna Lovegood. Be afraid Fiore, be very afraid.**

 **Happy reading -Centurion Africanus**


	34. Chapter 34

**I don't own HP or FT**

 **Normal POV**

That night, Harry and the other members of the Crime Sorciere team drank happily with Fairy Tail, enjoying the victories of both teams.

"Hey Harry, Fight me!" Natsu challenged and Harry rolled his eyes. He had sparred with Natsu plenty of times to know that he wasn't serious in his challenge.

"I think you should fight Gray first Natsu, he's been looking at you funny." Harry said and Natsu smirked evilly before turning on the ice mage.

"You wanna go popsicle pants!" Natsu yelled, hopping onto one of the tables

"Anytime matchstick." Gray replied, tossing both his drink and shirt aside.

"Enough." Erza said, smashing both boys with her armored fists. "You two can fight after the games and somewhere there won't be extensive damage bills."

"You heard the tin can boys, no fighting till later." Mira said happily, giving Gray another drink.

"Was that a challenge demon whore." Erza ground out, completely forgetting the two boys and glaring at Mira, who was matching her gaze.

"It has been far too long since I knocked you down a peg hasn't it." Mira answered, both girls now projecting an aura of pure malice. Most of the guild was trembling at the sight. The Demon and Titania fighting was always a fight that took no prisoners.

"Now now you two, like Erza just said, the fighting can wait for after the Games." Macao tried to calm the two women.

"SHUT UP!" they shouted at him in sync, each driving a fist into the poor man's gut. Macao went flying backwards and through the table Max, Warren, and Wakaba were drinking at.

"So that's how it is huh Macao, well take this." Max shouted and booted MAcao back across the room. After that, the room quickly devolved into a widespread brawl, only the Crime Sorciere team, Makarov, and Laxus managed to stay completely out of it. Others like Levy, Lucy, and the terrified staff hid behind the bar. Even Wendy could be seen landing a wicked elbow into Gajeel's jaw.

"Well, some things never change." Harry aid, looking out at the mess that was being made and Natsu and Lisanna stood back to back, fending off Gray and Cana respectively.

"Yes, the damage bills will never stop." Makarov said sadly before chugging his drink.

"So Master Makarov, how do you think tomorrow's matches will go, I heard they were going to be...electrifying." Meredy said, glancing at Laxus pointedly. Both Dreyar's picked up on the hidden meaning in her words.

"Well, if that's the case it should be an easy victory, the Jura and Harry have already fought and Natsu is on my team." Laxus said, pounding the last of his drink and signaled the terrified bar staff for another one.

"True." Harry agreed, watching the bar fight and rolling his bruised shoulders.

"I'm just worried about Raven Tail, that guild is up to no good." Makarov said into his mug and Luna gaver an airy chuckle.

"After tomorrow, many problems will sort themselves out." She said, tracing the wood grain pattern on the table while watching the ceiling.

"There you have it Makarov, Luna has spoken so it shall be." Neville said, taking a mock bow and almost spilling his drink when Hermione smacked the back of his head.

"Prat. But you are right, sometimes I don't know if she's psychic and just way too smart for her own good." the bookish mage said, flipping through her latest book on magical theory.

"Well, we'll see tomorrow." Meredy said as she finished her drink and slammed the empty mug onto the table

"Welcome one and all, for the third day of the Grand Magic Games!" Mato announced, the roar of the crowd filled the arena as the teams entered.

"At the halfway point in our competition, newcomers Raven Tail and Crime Sorciere hold the top two spots, but it's still anyone's game. Our event for the day is called Pandemonium, teams, send forward your champion!" Mato called, the word pandemonium flashed over all the screens

The Crime Sorciere team all looked at each other, then all turned to one member of their team.

"Luna." Four voices said simultaneously and the blonde simply smiled and skipped out onto the field. Orga, while still bandaged, made his way onto the field, glaring at the dreamy eyed blonde. Obra came forward for Raven and Cana, replacing Elfman, for Fairy Tail B. Nobarly came for Quatro Puppy and Millianna from Mermaid Heel.

"Well, I think it's time I step into the ring." Jura said to his team as he made his way into the arena, the crowd surging as they saw him.

"I will not lose, I'm going to show that demon up." Erza stated as she went onto the field, her whole team huddling away from the angered Titania.

Once all the representative from the teams had made their way down to the MAto continue with the instructions as a large monolithic building formed in the center of the arena.

"The rules of the game are simple, each competitor will go in one by one and fight a number of monsters for points. The monsters within range from D rank to a lone S rank that is around the power of a Wizard Saint. Everyone will now draw numbers to decide what order they will challenge the monsters. And be warned, if you choose to fight too many monsters and lose, your team will receive no points." Mato explained the rules as each competitor drew a number.

It was Erza who drew the right to go first. "The rules to me are clear, I will fight all 100 monsters." Erza declared calmly, making everyone's jaw hit the floor.

"If you insist Erza, BEGIN!" And with that, Erza entered the tower.

What came next was not something anyone would forget for years to come.

Erza started slow, using her Heaven's Wheel armor to plow through the lower rank monsters, before switching to her blackwing to start on the higher ones.

She quickly made her way through the monsters until she got the the A ranks, quickly switching to her Purgatory armor to finish them quickly. In under 10 minutes, it was only Erza and the S rank left standing.

Erza, thoroughly spent at this point, growled and switched into her flight armor, grasping both her swords tightly and shot forward at the monster, weaving through blows at inhuman speeds. She leapt back, dodging a punch and shot forward again, sprinting up the monster's arm. As she neared the head, Erza began to spin quickly, her swords flashing.

"Sonic Claw, Barrage Blast!" she called and a wave of slashes rained down on the monster's face, sending it crashing to the floor.

Erza landed hard on one knee, but she struggled back to her feet and raised her sword in the air.

"SHE'S DONE IT, ERZA SCARLET HAS DEFEATED ALL THE MONSTER 10 POINTS FOR FAIRY TAIL A!" Mato and the entire stadium went absolutely crazy.

One common thought went through many minds though, only Fairy Tail.

"Well, since all the monsters are defeated, what are we going to do?" Orga asked, now glaring at Erza, who was back with her team and refusing to let Wendy heal her.

"We have a backup event in place, the Magic Power Finder!" Mato said as a large blue orb was carted into the arena. "This event is simple, you attack the orb and it will give you a number based on how powerful the attack is, the highest number gets the most points." Mato explained, sending a small shot of magic from his staff into the orb, which then displayed a 45.

Millianna, was the first to attack the MPF. "Kitten Blast!" the wave of pink cat shaped energy struck the orb and 365 was displayed.

"To put that number into perspetive, 300-350 is the average number for a rune knight captain." Lahar of the magical containment unit informed the arena from his seat with the judges, who were in charge of watching the games to insure no one cheated.

Nobarly was next and he scored a 124. After him was Obra, who simply tapped the orb with his cane and scored a 4.

"You idiot, at least try!" Flare Corona yelled at Obra. Obra simply shrugged and ignored her.

"You're all weak." Orga said as he stepped up, black lightning forming in his hands. "120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" Orga called and the spell he had fired at Harry multiple times the day before struck the sphere, scoring him 3825. Orga smirked as Jura stepped forwards.

"I am allowed to go all out correct?" Jura checked with Mato, who nodded, then went and hid behind a barrier. Cana laughed from her spot in the back, a mug of beer in her hand.

"Rumbling Mount Fuji!" Jura called, slamming his hand into the ground and the ground around the MPF exploded. When the smoke cleared, jaws dropped when they saw the number displayed. 8544. More than five thousand higher than Orga.

"Well, what can you expect from a wizard saint." Makarov said, his eye twitching.

Luna was next, and she skipped forward with a dreamy smile on her face.

"I bet she'll score higher than the wizard saint." Mavis said to Makarov, who scoffed.

"If she does I'll give up drinking for a month." Makarov said and Mavis smiled, her eyes saying she would hold Makarov to that promise.

"Any clue what she's going to do?" HArry asked his team as they watched Luna take her imagine make stance.

"She told me she had a super powerful super secret spell she had been working on, no clue what that means though." Hermione said, watching Luna carefully.

"Imagine Make: KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAA!" Luna's spell formed slowly in her hands, a huge mass of light blue power, and when it was bigger than she was, Luna let the spell fly, slamming into the MPF.

After almost a minute, the light faded Luna was posing to the crowd. "It's over 9000!" she said, winking and flashing a peace sign to everyone. True to her word, 9001 was displayed over the MPF. The crowd went nuts.

Luna however, swayed where she stood and fell flat on her face, completely spent of magic power. Harry quickly came down to the field and carried her off.

Makarov's face was slack as he watched the wispy girl let loose more magic than a wizard saint.

"I believe you lost Makarov, so fork over the booze." Mavis cheered and took the drink from the trembling man, still white in the face.

"If she can imagine it, she can make it, Luna has one of the scariest powers I've ever seen." Ultear said to Makarov, taking his beer from Mavis and downing it herself.

"She isn't going to win though, I gave Cana some help." Mavis said, drawing Makarov's focus back from lala land.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the marvelous Cana Alberona!" Cana announced from the arena, taking her shirt off, leaving her in a bikini top, showing of both her Fairy Tail mark on her hip and a second similar mark on her forearm.

"What kind of power did you give the short tempered drinking fanatic…?" Makarov trailed off as he saw the light forming around the tattoo on Cana's arm.

"Nothing much, just a legendary spell with no maximum power limit." Mavis said with a smile and Makarov's head met his palm.

"FAIRY GLITTER!" Cana yelled, the light unleashed from Cana blinded everyone in the arena, competitors and fans alike. Only Mavis and a reawakened Luna were capable of watching the legendary magic take place.

When the light cleared and everyone could see again, the MPF was cracked and damaged, but it showed 9999.

"We have a winner, Fairy Tail B takes 8 points, I don't think anyone saw that coming!" Mato announced, and the crowd roared in approval as Cana took another bow.

"After Pandemonium, the score stands

Raven Tail- 34 pts

Crime Sorciere- 34 pts

Fairy Tail B- 31 pts

Sabertooth- 24 pts

Fairy Tail A- 21 pts

Lamia Scale- 16 pts

Quatro Cerberus- 12 pts

Mermaid Heel- 9 pts

"The two newcomers are tied for first while Fairy Tail B is right behind them, we'll be back for the afternoon battles!"

 **Well, maybe not completely a Luna moment, but I've had that planned out ever since I decided Luna was going to Earthland, and actually writing it made me thrilled. I hope the naruto reference wasn't lost either.**

 **As is becoming the norm, the next chapter will be longer as this one was shorter, so may the battles begin, should be interesting at least. Favs and follows always welcome, along with any review that doesn't mention a few mistake i wrote earlier in the story, i've gotten a few of those.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	35. Chapter 35

**I don't own FT or HP**

 **3rd POV**

"You know what time it is everyone, BATTLE TIME!" Mato announced, and the crowd roared in approval. The teams waved to the crowd as they reentered the arena. Luna was leaning on Hermione, still exhausted from her earlier performance.

"Our first match will be Semmes of Quatro Puppy vs Millianna of Mermaid Heel!" Mato called and Erza's old friend entered the arena, as did large man with the painted face from Quatro Puppy.

"You're going down little girl." Semmes said, flexing in a ready stance, but Millianna just laughed, flipping her hood back, her cat ears proudly displayed.

"Ready, FIGHT!" Mato called, and Semmes sprang into action. He twisted his arms and his whole body began to spin rapidly like a top. Spinning Magic.

The spinning Semmes shot forward and Millianna leapt to the side and Semmes shot past her, hitting the wall and bouncing back at the Mermaid Heel mage. This time Millianna wasn't fast enough to dodge and was knocked aside by Semmes, who continued his path to the next wall, bouncing off it and shooting at Millianna once again.

"I can see why this would be an interesting fight. Millianna uses a form of binding magic and Semmes a motion magic, a forward and backwards motion." Erza commented, bandages around her arm where one of the monster had clawed her, but otherwise unharmed from her fight earlier.

"Okay, he moves in a straight line, using the walls to bounce around and change direction." Millianna said to herself as she watched Semmes spin towards her again, dodging and then dodging again when he bounced off the wall. "Easy to counter."

Semmes spun at her again, Millianna dodged again, but this time, leaving a short trip wire of her Nekosoku tubes to bind him as he passed.

Just as she came out of her dodge, Millianna turned to watch Semmes trip when the spinning mage quickly changed direction and slammed into the unprepared Millianna, knocking her into a wall.

As Millianna slowly rose to her feet, Semmes halted his spinning to brag. "I don't have to go in a straight line, I can spin any way I choose, it's WILD!" and with his piece said, Semmes spun forward again at Millianna.

"Looks like Millianna's in trouble Erza, do you think she can win?" Lucy asked the knight mage as Millianna narrowly avoided a punishing blow that probably would have taken her out of the fight.

"Millianna is tough, and her Nekosoku tubes are a good counter to Semmes's spinning, she just needs an opening." Erza replied, her eyes never leaving her old friend.

"Okay, enough is enough meow. Kitten Blast!" Millianna shot a spiral of multiple tubes from her right hand at Semmes, who couldn't get out of the way in time.

The attack was ineffective though, the spiral of the blast went against Semmes's spin, causing the tubes to be redirected away. Leaving Semmes free to nail Millianna once again.

Millianna quickly got to her feet though, holding her ribs carefully and smirking.

"Let's try that again." Millianna said, her smirk growing. She lifted her left hand and shot another kitten blast at the spinning Semmes. This time, the tubes spun with him and wrapped around the spinning mage, their magic sealing effect taking hold almost instantly.

Millianna leapt at the stumbling Semmes and quickly summoned more tubes and hogtied the Quatro Puppy mage in a matter of seconds, leaving him face down in the dirt.

"And the winner is Millianna of Mermaid Heel, 10 points to the victor!" Mato called, and the crowd roared its approval as Millianna posed in victory before she let Semmes free and rejoined her team.

"Well done Millianna." Kagura, the undisputed strongest mage in Mermaid Heel, complimented the cat girl who smiled brightly.

"And now for our next match, we have Yuka Suzuki from Lamia Scale vs Luna Lovegood from Crime Sorciere!" Mato called, and Yuka quickly made his way onto the field, his face set in an arrogant smirk as he watched his opponent.

Luna was not quite as excited. Still exhausted from her spell during Pandemonium, Luna was struggling to even stay awake. Harry frowned as he quickly reviewed what he knew about Yuka. His magic, wave, was the best possible counter for Luna, who was already exhausted. Luna could catch most people off guard, but Yuka had a blanket counter for the crazy Luna liked to unleash. This fight reeked of being a setup for them to lose.

"I'm too tired, eyebrows-chan can have the points, I just want a nap!" Luna loudly declared before falling asleep again. This time leaning into Hermione instead of Harry.

Yuka's face twitched at the nickname, but he gracefully left the field as Mato announced the points for Lamia Scale. Jura looked at Harry and gave him a respectful nod. Harry nodded back. He had worked with the powerful Wizard Saint in the path, and understood the respect intended in the motion. Other guilds might have forced the exhausted Luna to fight despite her exhaustion and all that would happen would be her getting hurt needlessly. No, that wasn't something Harry would allow to happen. His friends meant everything to him and a silly competition fight was no reason for them to get hurt.

"Moving on, our next competitors, from Sabertooth, the Maiden of the Stars, Yukino Aguria!" the lone girl on the Sabertooth team calmly walked down to the field, her white dress and serene expression displayed the epitome of composure.

"And her opponent, Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail A" Mato announced, and Lucy gulped at the thought of facing down Sabertooth before making her way down to the field, her hand resting on her keys.

"Greetings Lucy-sama, I am looking forward to facing the mage currently in possession of 10 of the zodiac keys." Yukino's voice was smooth and even, but Lucy could hear the steel in her voice, a tone that promised it wouldn't be an easy fight.

"If both sides are ready, BEGIN!" Mato called and both Lucy and Yukino sprang into action.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

"Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!"

"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish, Pices!"

"Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales, Libra!"

Lucy was quick to whip two keys off her belt and summon her spirits, her choices reflecting her desire to capitalize on Yukino's large dress, which didn't seem like it would allow for easy movement.

Much to Lucy's surprise though, Yukino summoned two zodiac spirits as well, the last two of the twelve celestial spirits were in front of her.

Pices took the form of two large eels, each with large bulging eyes and large almost comical teeth. They had matching marks between their eyes that Lucy could see easily from their position coiled behind Yukino.

Libra looked like a priestess, a veil covered the lower half of her face making it the most concealed part of her. Her hair was styled in an ox horn cut and she had scales attached to rings she wore on her hands.

Scorpio and Virgo appeared next to Lucy, both lacking their normal oddities as they entered. Lucy assumed it was because her fight was against another Celestial Spirit mage, and other zodiac spirits. All the spirits were incredibly prideful and a chance to do battle was a rare opportunity for them.

"Pices, water. Libra, crush them." Yukino's tone was flat and her spirits responded quickly.

Both the black and the white Pices shot torrents of water into the air, making it arc until it was primed to crash down onto Lucy and her spirits.

Libra's contribution to the attack was the increase the gravity on and above Lucy, bringing the mage and her crumpling to the ground and bringing the water Pices had shot crashing down on Lucy much faster.

Lucy panicked for a moment before regaining her composure. "Virgo, to ground, Scorpio avoid the hit." Lucy said quickly, thinking quickly and both her spirits understood immediately.

Virgo grabbed Lucy and tunneled them both away from the waterfall while Scorpio used his tail to propel himself out of the way and out from under the intense gravity.

The water hit the ground under the increased gravity and flooded that portion of the arena, the water quickly filled Virgo's tunnel and Scorpio barely got out of the way.

Virgo and Lucy resurfaced near Scorpio, soaking wet but unharmed.

"Great, now I'm drenched, and this uniform was cute too." Lucy complained, not noticing the gleam in Virgo's eyes.

"Allow me to fix that Princess." noticing her spirits evil tone, Lucy panicked, but couldn't get away as Virgo grabbed Lucy and began to change her clothes at a rapid pace. Scorpio just sighed and used his sand to provide a barrier for what was left of Lucy's modesty.

When she was done, Virgo had gotten into an outfit like what she had worn during the Oracion Seis incident, except in the colors of the Fairy Tail uniforms.

"Well, I can see why you're known as the Cosplayer now." Yukino commented, her tone filled with mirth.

"What, who calls me that!?" Lucy exclaimed.

"A few years ago, I lost to Lisanna Strauss, who told me I was good, but not as good as the Cosplayer, I figured it was a joke, but I can see it is indeed a legitimate title." Yukino said and Lucy leveled her glare at the Fairy Tail B team, specifically at Natsu and Lisanna, who were bent over laughing. Lisanna hadn't been around long enough before Tenrou to know most of Lucy's embarrassing outfit moments, which meant Natsu was probably the source of the humiliating nickname.

"When I get my hands on you two, you are so dead!" Lucy yelled up at the laugh duo, but her threat just made them laugh harder. Lucy just rolled her eyes and refocused on her fight, watching Yukino carefully.

"Again, crush them." Yukino said, the distraction of the clothing change over and the match resumed.

Knowing what to expect now, Lucy quickly analyzed the situation and planned.

"Scorpio, help me evade the attacks, but let the water come, don't dry it up with sand, Virgo, keep tunneling, make a reservoir of water so it stays on the field." Lucy ordered and both spirits leapt into action.

The next few minutes were a game of cat and mouse Yukino used Libra to direct mass amounts of water created by Pices to try and crush Lucy while Lucy clung to Scorpio while he used his sand buster to propel himself around the arena. Virgo had continued tunneling and had covered the field in connects pools of water.

Eventually Yukino got in a lucky shot and knocked both Scorpio and Lucy into a wall. The blow was enough to dispel Scorpio back to the spirit world.

With a motion, Lucy summoned back Virgo, regaining the magic Virgo had left and prepared the next step of her plan.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"

"Open, Gate of the Twins, Gemini!"

Aquarius formed in the largest of the pools Virgo had created and Gemini was over the pool next to her.

"Why did you summon me brat, I was on a date!" Aquarius growled, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I just had Scorpio here, I know you weren't here, and I thought you would be thrilled to fight Pices." Lucy shot back, both women getting tick marks on their heads.

"Fine, but don't summon me for a while after this, at least there's enough water around." Aquarius grumbled and turned her full temper onto Yukino, who was watching carefully, not willing to use any more water attacks, knowing full well that Aquarius was more powerful than Pices, especially with this much water trapped in the arena.

"Gemini, turn into Aquarius and make use of the water." Lucy called, letting her plan fall into place. She did grimace though, her magic was starting to run low, she had enough for one more summon while still being able to use her ace in the hole, Erza had worked her hard to expand her magic container.

"Piri-piri" and with that Gemini quickly tapped the aggravated Aquarius and the two water bearers now took full advantage of the flooded field. Virgo's tunnels had filled with more than enough water for two Aquarius to work with.

"Libra, defense, you too Pices!" Yukino called, a note of desperation in her voice, all the water she had been throwing around was about to come crashing back down on her.

"Not happening!" Lucy exclaimed, and she brought out her Fleuve d'etoiles, the magic whip extending quickly and wrapping around Libra's hands. "Your scales are what changes gravity, allow me to adjust." Lucy said and used her whip to move Libra's hands, directing gravity to increase towards Yukino and Pices, making the two Aquarius's water strike them that much harder. The water hit hard and fast, Yukino was blasted into the far wall and both Pices and Libra were dispelled to the spirit world.

When the water receded, Yukino was panting and one of her hands looked broken from her collision.

"To think I have to use him on a lowly Fairy, oh well. Open, Gate of the Snake Charmer, Ophiuchus!" Yukino brandished a black key and a huge spirit entered the field.

Ophiuchus was enormous. It was dark colored and took up a good half of the field. Parts of it appeared to be a normal serpent, but it also seemed to mechanical.

"Ophiuchus is the result of the meddling of dark mages." Yukino explained to the shocked Lucy. "What was once a simple silver key spirit was warped and deformed. The dark mages were trying to create a spirit powerful enough to dethrone the spirit king, so they could rule the spirit world. But Ophiuchus rebelled, his loyalty to the king still ingrained into him and he killed the dark mages before taking refuge in the spirit world. It's taken me years to gain his trust, but the two of us are unstoppable together." Yukino told the story and Lucy could only stare in awe and fear at the magnificent sight that was Ophiuchus.

"Finish this Ophiuchus, darkness strike." Yukino said, her voice wavering as she was worn out by the tidal wave she had been struck with.

Ophiuchus roared and shot a blast of dark energy from his maw. It almost reminded Lucy of a roaring dragon. Ophiuchus was slow though, it seemed to be it's only flaw however, it was armored, large, and clearly powerful.

Lucy didn't have enough time to properly act as the darkness strike, she was still taking in the huge spirit. It wound up being her oldest and closest spirit that kept her from being seriously injured.

Without a word, Aquarius heaved her urn and unleashed even more water, enough to match the force of Ophiuchus's blast. Both spells ended though, and while Ophiuchus was fine, Aquarius had spent most of her magic.

"Get your head in the game brat, win this and you might just get a boyfriend." Aquarius yelled at her summoner, snapping Lucy out of the daze she was in. Lucy nodded, and Aquarius nodded and dispelled, giving Lucy back what magic energy she had left.

"Gemini, let's soften this big boy up, you remember the other transformation I had you prepare?" Lucy called to her remaining spirit, her next key already in her hand.

"You" "Got it" Gemini said poofing back to its base form, then into Gajeel.

"Iron Dragon's ROAR!" the Gemini Gajeel let loose a wave of magic that slammed into Ophiuchus, knocking it back slightly, but not much.

"You'll have to try harder than that, Ophiuchus has a resistance to nearly every element." Yukino called and signaled to Ophiuchus, who slithered forward and tried to bite at Lucy and Gemini Gajeel, but both leapt out of the way.

Lucy's mind was in overdrive as she glanced down at Capricorn's key in her hand. He was the most powerful spirit she could summon with what magic she had left with enough left over, but Lucy knew that wouldn't be enough. She watched as Gemini used Gajeel's iron fists to drive Ophiuchus back, but it wasn't doing much damage. The darkness that seemed to emanate from the giant snake was providing extra defense to the altered spirit.

Lucy needed to counter the darkness….and of course the answer had been staring her in the face the whole time. Lucy quickly switched Capricorn's key and grabbed a different one and dispelled Gemini to give her the last bit of magic she would need. It would be cutting it close, but she'd have enough.

"Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" Lucy called and brandished the key of her most powerful spirit and self-proclaimed valiant protector.

"I was wondering if I would be needed Princess, I'm glad to help you." Leo said as he appeared, his tone light, but his hard gaze never leaving Ophiuchus. "I've been wanting to test myself against the King's Shadow for a while, this should be fun."

"Darkness Strike!" Yukino called, pointing at the leader of the Zodiac Spirits, Ophiuchus roared and let loose another beam of darkness.

Leo was quick to respond, lifting Lucy bridal style and leaping out of the way.

"It's big, powerful, and radiating dark magic, but it's slow, I'll help where I can, but this is mostly on you Leo." Lucy told her spirit, who nodded and set her down, focusing on the match instead of flirting.

"Don't worry Princess, I've got the big lug, he never was too bright so if you keep his summoner distracted I should be fine." Leo told Lucy, rolling up the sleeves of his suit.

"Lion Brilliance-Aura!" Leo chanted, his entire body becoming encased in a bright glow. When the aura surrounded him completely, Leo shot forward and landed a fierce uppercut into Ophiuchus's jaw. "Regulus Impact!"

Ophiuchus was sent flying backwards and the crowd roared in support of the underdog Leo, who continued his assault on the giant dark spirit.

"Ophiuchus, use…" Yukino's instructions were cut off when Lucy lashed out with her whip, pulling one of her legs out from under her.

"Just you and me then Fairy." Yukino spat, her face contorting with anger. With a quick motion, Yukino shed the outer layer of her outfit, leaving the feathery dress floating to the ground. Now wearing a combat suit, Yukino drew a pair of dagger strapped to her thighs and charged Lucy.

"And you call me the cosplayer, look at you, pulling off an outfit change midfight." Lucy taunted, dancing out of Yukino's knives range, retaliating with a crack of her Fleuve d'etoiles.

The two celestial spirit mages continued their match, each a master of their selected weapon, while their spirits battled, dark vs light.

"Regulus Gatling Gun!" Leo called, his fists working fast as he unleashed a rain of blows down into the Ophiuchus's midsection, sending the great snake writhing.

Ophiuchus had lost all common sense, he was thrashing about, trying to smash and bite Leo, who was using his smaller size and greater speed to land solid blows to the great snake before sprinting away again.

Leo knew he needed to land a finishing blow though, he was almost out of magic, the price of keeping his Lion Brilliance Aura active. He could pull more from Lucy, but he knew his summoner's wanting to keep her magic above a certain point, just enough to cast one final spell.

As Ophiuchus roared and tried to bite Leo in half, the lion spirit back flipped out of the way, trying to think of a solution, something Lucy had tried to impress on all her spirits during their time training, power can be trumped by strategy.

Leo carefully looked over his opponent, the great spirit pulling back to a coiled state after his missed bite. Each plate of armor on his main body was reinforced twice over with darkness magic, meant to counter the Spirit King. Leo knew that striking the plates wouldn't be effective, so he quickly analyzed the natural parts of the serpent.

His unenhanced scales were oozing darkness, and his crown was covered in a strange symbol…

Leo gazed at the symbol longer, he knew that pattern from somewhere. When it hit him, Leo almost face faulted. Ophiuchus's original form, before _she_ had been altered by the dark mages, was Ophiuchus, the great healer spirit. Leo could see it now, and he knew where to strike.

With a mighty leap, Leo shot forward at near light speed, a sonic boom sounding off as he ran. He would have one chance to strike and he had to be fast enough to not be stopped.

Ophiuchus snapped at him as he shot forward, but he had angled himself to go past the spirit. Leo quickly flipped his legs forward and they impacted the far wall, where he pushed off, shooting at Ophiuchus's back before she could react.

"LION'S IMPACT STRIKE!" Leo yelled as he forced all his remaining magic into his fist as it struck the base of Ophiuchus's skull. In her previous form, Ophiuchus carried around a massive syringe on her shoulders and Leo knew it was to cover the base of her neck, which was highly sensitive.

With a final roar, Ophiuchus vanished back to the spirit world. Leo landed and gave a thumbs up to his Lucy before slipping back himself, out of magic.

"Your spirit may have defeated my most powerful spirit, but I can still beat you." Yukino yelled at Lucy, who deftly responded by using her Fleuve d'etoiles to wrap up Yukino's knives and toss them to the side.

"Fine, show me what you got." Lucy taunted and Yukino began to chant. Instantly recognizing the words, Lucy began her own chant, her word rushed to cast before Yukino.

"Urano Metria!"

"Urano Metria!"

Both Celestial Spirit mages completed their chants at the same time, the power of the 88 planets coalescing around them. Mighty cannon blasts of star energy clashed as both mages cut loose, immense amounts of magic power being thrown around with little restraint, showing both mages still had a way to go until they mastered the spell.

When the dust cleared, both Yukino and Lucy unconscious on the ground, almost completely out of magic power.

"AND THIS FANTASTIC MATCH ENDS IN A TIE, FIVE POINTS TO BOTH SABERTOOTH AND FAIRY TAIL A!" Mato was bouncing around as the crowd roared in approval for the two mages who poured their hearts into the fight.

Gray had quickly run onto the field when the match was called to collect Lucy, who didn't even groan when he lifted her bridal style. He gave a short nod to Sting, who had come to retrieve Yukino, but only received a glare in return.

Makarov gave a sigh as both exhausted Celestial Spirit mages were carried back to their teams. Sabertooth had been the favorites going into the games, and he had hoped it would one of the dragon slayers who faced them down. Seeing Lucy stand up and tie with them was more than he expected from the girl. He also enjoyed seeing one of his mages use their head for once instead of just throwing around powerful magic.

"She fought well, but the next match will be the decisive one, father vs son." Mavis's words sent a shiver of fear down Makarov's spine as he realized the only teams left, Raven Tail and the B team.

"Our final matchup of the day, Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail B vs Alexei of Raven Tail!"

The tall golden armored man form Raven Tail calmly made his way into the arena, not showing any outwards reaction to his matchup against a mage known for being stronger than most wizard saints.

Laxus shrugged off his jacket, leaving it in Mira's capable hands. He shot quick glances around the arena, making eye contact with Natsu, Gajeel, and Harry quickly, getting nods from all three, before he faced down the silent Raven Tail mage.

"Begin!" Mato called and to most people it appeared that Alexei shot forward like a rocket, beating into Laxus, but the slayers knew otherwise, they could smell that neither mage had moved from their starting position.

"So, illusions, real mature dad." Laxus said to Alexei, who chuckled darkly and removed his helmet to reveal the twisted face of Ivan Dreyar.

"I just wanted a private word with my son, is that so wrong?" Ivan asked in a condescending tone and Laxus scoffed at him.

"Not a believable story when I can smell the rest of your little gang right there with you." Laxus countered and Ivan scowled, but released the illusion that his Nullpudding, Flare, Kurohebi, and Obra from Laxus's sight. "You underestimate the nose on a slayer, your weak illusions only cover two of the senses."

"Regardless, you are going to tell me exactly what I want to know." Ivan spat, his guild in a fighting stance behind him.

"Yeah no, I know what they all can do, and I know what you're after. Gajeel has been quite the informant for us." Laxus said, making Ivan scowl even further, he opened his mouth to speak again, but Laxus cut him off. "Since you like blackmail so much, Natsu has already taken up the task of making sure you've got no leverage." At his words, Flare gave a shriek of surprise as her hair burned, Natsu's work.

"Then I'll just force it out of you, where is the Lumen Histoire!" Ivan yelled at his son, who just rolled his eyes.

"The darkness of Fairy Tail, I'm still surprised you know about it. I know better than to trust myself around that kind of power, once I knew it existed, I told only my most trusted comrade and destroyed any written proof of its existence. I couldn't help you if I wanted, and frankly, handing an infinite source of magic to a dark mage is not something I'll ever do.

"Fine, you signed your own death warrant boy, I'll rip that lacrima out of your chest and give it to some more deserving." Ivan spat and unleashed a wave of Shikigami dolls at Laxus.

Laxus easily shrugged off the blow, making use of Harry's solid lightning technique for defense. In a split second, Laxus shot forward, decking Obra in the face, knocking him out in a second. Kurohebi and Nullpudding shot sand and needles at him, but Laxus was too fast. He put them both down without even using his magic. Flare was next, a fast fist from Laxus sent her into the ground.

"You know Ivan, you could have done a lot of good in the world if you had wanted too, but you never had anyone open your eyes to the strength of others, you were too high on your own supposed supremacy." Laxus spoke with conviction as he glared down his father. "I'm lucky I had someone close to me set me straight, otherwise I'd be just as bad as you are, and even if you are my father, Fairy Tail is my family, and I'll stop you from ever hurting my family!" With a mighty punch, Laxus sent Ivan smashing back into a wall, knocking him out instantly.

The illusion broke and all of Fiore saw the Raven Tail team out cold on the ground, and Ivan lodged in the wall.

Harry quickly slipped up the Mato and handed him a file, full of Raven's cheating and dirty secrets, from during the games alone.

"This fight is over, despite cheating Raven Tail has been defeated, meaning Fairy Tail B is the winner. Also, due to cheating, sabotage of other teams, and arranging some of the matches, Raven Tail is disqualified from the games." Mato announced and the crowd in approval as the Raven Tail team was carted away by the Rune knights. The small form of Obra tried to escape as his puppet was taken, but Harry snagged him and dropped him in a box which he handed off to a Rune Knight.

"Your grandson did well Makarov, he shines with the spirit of Fairy Tail." Mavis said to the angered Dreyar guild master.

"Yes, I am as proud of Laxus as I am disappointed in Ivan. Not a day goes by that I don't thank Harry for knocking sense back into the boy." Makarov as he watched a long-time thorn permanently removed from Fairy Tail's side.

 **Ok, that's done. Took longer than I thought it would, but I've been sick the past week and it sucks. While I don't like Lucy's character very much, I do think she is one of the few Fairy Tail characters who fights more with their head than pure power, hopefully that came through. A story to watch, I think it should be pretty good as more is written is On Black Wings by Darkscythe Drake, so check it out.**

 **Next chapter will be naval battle and repercussions from Raven's actions. Fav and follow and review, I love them all.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	36. Chapter 36

**I don't own FT or HP**

 **3rd POV**

After Raventail was removed from the arena, Mato quickly hurried to bring the energy of the crowd back up by displaying the scores.

Fairy Tail B- 41 pts

Crime Sorciere- 34 pts

Sabertooth- 29 pts

Lamia Scale- 26 pts

Fairy Tail A- 26 pts

Mermaid Heel- 19 pts

Quatro Puppy- 12 pts

Raven Tail-Disqualified

"With only two days left in our competition, Fairy Tail B has the lead, but no one is out of this race yet!" Mato announced, but his cheer was wasted on the 7 remaining teams, all of which were disgusted with the actions of Raven Tail.

The arena emptied quickly as each team went back to their inns to discuss the day's action. Crime Sorciere was no exception, Harry rushed his team back to meet with Jellal and Sirius.

"What do you have for us?" Harry asked as soon as the room was secured by runes, Ultear relaxing in a lazy chair at the head of a long table.

"Princess Hisui personally arranged one of the matches today, Sabertooth vs Fairy Tail." Sirius started, his dog form stealthy enough to get into the royal palace itself.

"Which begs the question why, if they wanted Saber too win, the would have picked a stronger member, and if they wanted Fairy Tail to lose, Erza was exhausted and Lucy can't fight seriously against any guy." Meredy pointed out.

"Both Yukino and Lucy are Celestial mages, same as the princess. It could be she wanted who was the strongest celestial mage." Ultear added, but the groups voice of reason countered that.

"We know the Royal family has been researching into the twelve zodiac keys, Yukino was even called forth to demonstrate her summons a few years ago to see if her two spirits could bring news of the ten lost on Tenrou." Hermione stated, her encyclopedic brain moving hundreds of miles an hour. "It was all passed off as the Princess's interest in the magic, but this is something more."

"Between the two of them, all twelve golden zodiac keys are present, Jellal, do you know of any dark magic revolving around them?" Meredy asked the former expert on ancient evil magic and Jellal nodded.

"It didn't have a name, but there were rumors that there existed a weapon that could only be activated by the combined power of the spirits, there was no description however, just that the last celestial mage who activated died from the strain." Jellal told the group, his voice monotone.

"Which means that both Lucy and Yukino are targets, for their keys and their ability. Whatever Zeref is planning could revolve around those two, Sirius, follow Yukino, disable any attackers against her, your dog form should be able to watch over her within the Sabertooth inn. I'll send a quick message to Natsu and Lisanna, they'll keep an eye on Lucy." Harry said, pulling out a message lacrima and sent a quick message off to his friends. Sirius just nodded and slunk away in his grim form.

After that the meeting broke up and the guild simply enjoyed themselves, making small talk and comments on the matches. It was when Sirius barged back into the room that things got serious again.

"Sabertooth threw Yukino out for her fight, I searched for her through the streets, but she vanished." he told them, out of breath. The whole guild scowled. The first move had been made.

 **POV switch**

That night, the Sabertooth guild was called to assembly in the lobby of their inn. The master of Sabertooth, Jiemma, had moved his large throne from their guildhall and into the hotel lobby, despite protests from the staff.

"We are LOSING!" Jiemma shouted at his collected mages, his face set in a twisted frown. "Not only do we have less points than a new nobody guild and a group of cheaters, but we're losing to FAIRY TAIL!"

As he shouted, his magic aura flared, giving off a sickening feel to everyone in his guild. "I will not permit this to continue any longer. Yukino, step forward." Jiemma growled and the nervous and exhausted spirit mage limped forward, her cloak still ripped from the earlier fight.

"After countless hours of practice alongside your spirits, years of time spent expanding your magic container to cast Urano Metria, wasted! You are a disgrace, and I hereby banish you from my guild." Silence rang through the hotel at his proclamation. Yukino knew what that meant and silently stripped, brandishing her guildmark for Jiemma to wipe away.

"Leave and never return, you only have enemies here." Jiemma spat at Yukino, who clutched her keys like a life-line and began the long walk to the door, forcing her face to remain stoic.

"I think we'll be keeping those, consider it your payment for all the time we put into you." a woman's voice rang through the silent hall, sulty but cruel. As it spoke, Yukino's keys vanished from her hands and reappeared on the floor in front of Jiemma.

"Trash, a worthless magic for a useless mage." he spat, stomping on the keys and kicking them away. Unseen by anyone but Rogue, Frosch scooped them up and stored them under its hood.

That was the last straw for the distraught Yukino, who fled the hotel, tears falling freely down her face.

From the shadow behind Jiemma's throne, a tall stately woman with slanted eyes, skin a deep cream matching Jiemma, and dressed in a deep blue evening gown.

"Minerva will be taking her place on the team, at this point, she's the only one besides Sting and Rufus who hasn't let me down." Jiemma said, sending a glare at Rogue and Orga. Both young men shifted uncomfortably under his stern gaze.

"Tomorrow, I expect us to take the lead, if not I will punish those who fail. Dismissed." Jiemma waved his hand and the guild scattered. Only Sting and Minerva were left in the vast lobby.

"I got a little sneak peek at tomorrow's matches, be prepared, both you and Rogue, you two finally get the match you dreamed of." Minerva told the White dragon slayer who grinned wickedly and went up to the room he shared with Rogue and their exceeds, tomorrow was going to be a big day, a day of dragons clashing.

While Sting daydreamed of his match the next day, Rogue and Frosch slipped out a side door and vanished into the night. It took only minutes for the shadow dragon slayer to find Yukino hiding in an alley, sobbing.

"Jiemma went too far this time, it was obvious the Fairy has been training just as you have, she simply outnumbered you." Rogue comforted his close friend, handing her a small bag filled with clothes and a few jewel.

Yukino quickly put on a fresh t-shirt and shorts then grabbed Rogue in a tight hug, crying into his shoulder.

"Fro thinks these will make it better!" the little exceed piped up, holding up Yukino's keys. Yukino held the keys carefully and pulled them into her chest, her tears falling harder now.

"Thank you, both of you." she said softly as Rogue gently held her. "I don't know what I'm going to do now though…" Yukino trailed off, finally letting go of Rogue.

"Sting will soon notice I went missing, if you need help, I should be able to sneak off between the event and matches tomorrow, I'll look for you then." Rogue told his friend and with that, he vanished off into the night.

Yukino took a few minutes to calm herself before she left the alley, clutching her keys tightly. She had only got a few steps though when a large shadow passed over her.

"Rogue?" Yukino asked, that was her last word before a fist collided with the back of her head and everything went black. Yukino Aguria was spirited away into the night, with her keys.

 **Next day**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the second to last day of the Grand Magic Games!" Mato announced, the crowd roared in excitement, the misconduct of Raven Tail the day before forgotten.

"For today's game, we will have the Naval Battle!" Mato announced, his pumpkin head bouncing as he got the crowd into it. "Will the representatives from all eight teams please come down!"

Minerva staked down to the field dressed in a moderate but still attractive one piece bathing suit, the other guilds watched carefully as the ace of Saber Tooth took her place.

"Finally, a good opportunity to show off my new bikini!" Mira cheered and threw herself into the arena, girls from the other guilds following her. The competitors wound up being Hermione of Crime Sorciere, Sherria from Lamia, Risley of Mermaid Heel, Juvia and Mira from the two Fairy Tail teams, Minerva for Saber and Rocker with two bloody tissues stuffed up his nose for Quatro Puppy, a goofy smile plastered across his face.

"Watch me Gray-sama, Juvia will win for you!" Juvia called to crush, who just buried his head in his hands.

"The rules are simple." Mato explained, a giant bubble of water forming above the arena floor. "The seven competitors will be placed in the sphere of water above, then they will fight with the goal of knocking each other out of the bubble. The longer you last, the more points your team will get. But there is one exception. When there are only two competitors left, a five minute timer will start. If one of the remaining two competitors is knocked out in that time, their team will get no points. Now if everyone is ready, BEGIN!"

And with that, the seven mages were levitated into the large bubble and they took off, using magic to propel themselves through the magic water.

"You know Gray, Juvia has a good chance of winning this one, her magic gives her a distinct advantage." Erza told the ice mage as they watched Juvia knock the already Rocker from the bubble, making him the first eliminated.

"I know that, but I'm worried about the Saber mage, she looks more vicious than the rest of their team put together." Gray admitted as the watched Minerva punch her way through a stone barrier created by Hermione of Crime Sorciere and send her flying from the bubble.

"Juvia will be fine, she would have won her match against Raven if it weren't for them cheating and now she's in here element. Trust her." Gajeel said, his voice in its usual flat biting tone, but they could all feel the faith the dragon slayer had in his sister figure.

The battle in the sphere was heating up now as Juvia and Sherria clashed spells. Juvia using the water from all around her and Sherria pulling in air from the outside to negate her spells. Mira had yet to use her Satan soul, but was instead darting around Risley as she tried to use her gravity magic to push her from the water. Minerva was floating near the top of the bubble watching the others with a precise eye.

"Juvia will not allow herself to be defeated in her own element, not even to a slayer." Juvia cried as she channeled more water around her, creating a whirlpool around Sherria. Sherria tried to escape through the top of the spiral of water, but Mira landed a kick on the Sky God slayer as she avoided Risley, keeping her trapped.

"Water Cyclone!" Juvia called, completing her spell on a much larger scale than usual due to the water all around her. Sherria was immediately sent flying form the bubble and the others all struggled to dodge, even Minerva. While she was recovering from the spinning, Mira landed a Elfman style punch to Risley's jaw, sending her out of the bubble, only leaving the two Fairy Tail mages and Minerva.

"Looks like it's just us now, time to step things up a notch." Mira said, a devious smile crossing her usually serene face.

"Just the two fairies, just as planned." Minerva said, a hungry smile flashing across her face as she glared at the winded Juvia and smiling Mira. "Let's start by evening out the number a bit."

With a simple wave of her hands Mira vanished from her spot in the bubble and landed rough on the ground.

"With only two competitors left, the five minute timer will begin!" Mato called and a timer formed above the bubble where Juvia and Minerva were facing down.

"Well, it seems Saber knows just as much as we do, and they've planned for it." Harry said, watching Minerva carefully.

"Yes, more favoritism by the Royal Family and endorsed by the Magic Council, I'm willing to bet they tipped off Saber to the merge, and the rules for this game mean they can show off their strength over a Fairy Tail mage, while still giving them no points." Meredy agreed, handing Hermione a towel as she rejoined her teammates.

"We'll see, if she gets cocky, Juvia will outlast the time limit, meaning both get second place points." Neville reminded them as Luna kicked her feet over the railing and smiled.

"She'll lose, but Minerva won't win." the bright eyed blonde said, her gaze never leaving the Guildmaster seats, where only she could see the calculating face of Mavis Vermillion.

"Juvia will defeat you, and prove her strength as a Fairy Tail mage!" Juvia challenged Minerva, who smiled condescendingly down at the water mage.

"How, if I can take one of your S-class mages in seconds how much of a chance do you stand." Minerva taunted.

"Mira is stronger than Juvia, but Juvia is strongest in the water, Sierra!" Juvia cried and her entire body turned into a mass of loosely defined water that shot forward at Minerva.

The Saber mage casually raised her hand and prepared to redirect the water mage from the ring, but Juvia disassembled herself before the Minerva's magic could land and landed a flurry of blows on the shocked Saber mage, gradually pushing her nearer to the edge of the bubble.

"Juvia will not lose!" Juvia declared, becoming the water all around Minerva, keeping her from targeting her with a teleportation spell like she did Mira.

"Well, it would seem I underestimated you puny Fairy." Minerva spat a glob of blood from her mouth, the only sign that Juvia had hit her at all being a split lip. "But you fall here, it's a little trick I picked up from one of your former guild mates." Minerva raised her hands and cast her spell as the timer hit two minutes left.

"Drain!" Minerva chanted, pulling Juvia's magic from the water, forcing her to reform, her skin a pale green from all the magic she had lost.

"That's the spell Aria used on Makarov, isn't it?" Gray asked Gajeel, who nodded as he watched Juvia go limp in the bubble and begin to sink slightly.

"It is, and it seals the match for Saber." Gajeel grunted.

"You're not going anywhere yet girl, I'm not done with you yet." Minerva spat and quickly appeared next to Juvia, landing a vicious kick to her back. All the Fairy Tail mages were forced to watch as once again Juvia was helpless against an opponent who had drained her magic, leaving the water mage at their mercy.

"This is just unnecessary, when I get my hands on her.." Gray trailed off, his eyes colder than any ice he could summon. Neither Gajeel or Erza said anything as Carla hid Wendy's eyes, they merely grit their teeth and Gajeel bent the railing in his tight grip.

With ten seconds left, Minerva cast the beaten Juvia from the bubble where Mira deftly caught the exhausted mage.

"And the winner is Saber Tooth, for being the last one knocked out, Fairy Tail A will receive no points while the point scale will be pushed for the others!" Mato announced and the new scores flashed across the big screen.

Fairy Tail B- 47 pts

Sabertooth- 39 pts

Crime Sorciere- 36 pts

Lamia Scale- 29 pts

Fairy Tail A- 26 pts

Mermaid Heel- 23 pts

Quatro Puppy- 13 pts

"Before the afternoon matches begin however, we have a problem, we need an even number of teams, which means the two Fairy Tail teams will be combined!" Mato announced and Makarov and the other began to shout their protests. Only Laxus, Lisanna, and surprisingly Natsu held their tongues.

"Third, calm yourself, just agree already." Mavis told Makarov in a shockingly serious tone.

"Fine, we'll combine our teams." Makarov called down to Mato after he calmed down his guild.

"Excellent, thank you master Makarov, the new standings will now be displayed! Your single teams will be finalized before the afternoon matches" the pumpkin headed announcer called and a new series of numbers flashed across the screen.

Sabertooth- 39 pts

Crime Sorciere- 36 pts

Lamia Scale- 29 pts

Fairy Tail- 26 pts

Mermaid Heel- 23 pts

Quatro Puppy- 13 pts

"Going into the afternoon matches, the leader is SABERTOOTH!" Mato cheerily announced as Makarov and the rest of the guild sputtered in rage, they hadn't even been given the average between their two teams.

"Calm down gramps, it's obvious their cheating, and when we win despite that, it'll just proove how much better we are than them." Natsu patted Makarov on his head as both Fairy Tail teams joined with the rest of the guild.

"And here I was thinking you would be more upset we'd just been cheated out of our points." Makarov grumbled to the surprisingly calm dragon slayer.

"We knew this was going to happen last night, Natsu threw a fit before he could get himself under control." Laxus said, flicking said mage in the forehead as he grumbled protests.

"Who told you then, because it's clear after her show that Minerva knew as well." Erza said, watching the two dragonslayers.

"We have some friends who are very good at getting into things that no one else wants them in, that's all." Lisanna said cheerily. "Like we know who to put on out combined team and what the afternoon matches will be, so just kick back and watch master, it'll be a good show."

Makarov grumbled about troublesome brats before letting them go prepare themselves for the afternoon.

Gray went to visit Juvia once again in the infirmary where she was resting. While he was there, he saw Porlyusica bustling around with Wendy and surprisingly Natsu sitting next to the still sleeping and exhausted Lucy, who had been in the infirmary since the day before.

"What are you doing here flame brain, I'd thought you'd be off with Lisanna making faces." Gray taunted but /natsu just laughed and waved him off.

"We'll do that later, just checking on my teammate for now." Natsu waved the ice mage off, who once again had to remind himself that Natsu wasn't the impulsive teen he would often fight with.

"Well she's my teammate too, so I'll stay in here for the matches, Laxus already told me I was the reserve member for our team." Gray offered, and Natsu nodded.

"Thanks Gray, you might want to find some pants before these two wake up though, you know how they both react when you walk around in you boxers." Natsu said with a laugh, leaving the ice mage to panic and try and track down his missing jeans, never noticing the flash of gold Natsu slipped into his pocket.

 **Wow, that took way longer than I wanted between chapters, this time, the blame falls on writers block, my general dislike for the eclipse gate arc, getting my wisdom teeth out, and easter. The end is in sight and I think I have a way to end the story without pissing too many people off, which is good. I have the rest of the games planned out, but after that it's only a concept, so after the games end there may be a delay before more chapters go up.**

 **This does bring up the question of what to write next though, I'm thinking I'm going to go over one of my Percy Jackson fics and finish it, and finish my 5Ds one before starting something new. I have ideas for bleach, harry potter, fairy tail, percy jackson, naruto and combinations of them all, just not sure what to write yet. Any general ideas and requests to catch my interest would be cool. As always favs and follows are appreciated.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


	37. Chapter 37

**I don't own HP or FT**

 **3rd POV**

"Before we begin our afternoon matches, it is my pleasure to introduce the Fairy Tail team!" Mato announced to the crowd as the combined Fairy Tail team walked forward, Harry grinned as he saw the lineup, it certainly would throw the council's plan off. "Natsu Dragneel, Laxus Dreyar, Erza Scarlet, Lisanna Strauss and Mirajane Strauss!"

Gajeel smirked from the sideline as the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth both leveled glares at the Fairy Tail team. There goes that plan. Mavis simply laughed at the outrage most of Sabertooth was letting show.

"Today's matches will different than days before, instead of a one vs one match, today's bouts are tag team matches!" The crowd surged in delight and the pumpkin announcer paused to let the crowd settle down.

"Our first match will be Bacchus and Rocker from Quatro Puppy vs Kagura and Millianna of Mermaid Heel!"

Bacchus gave a cheer as he leapt into the ring, Rocker followed with a bit more composure, but not much. Kagura and Millianna were both much more composed, walking calmly into the ring with faces set in determination. Kagura was fiddling slightly with her sword and Millianna cracking her knuckles.

"If both sides are ready, BEGIN!" Mato called and the four mages leapt into action.

"I know about you Kagura Mikazuchi, the sheathed sword." Bacchus said, staring down his opponent and Rockar and Millianna began trading punches in a swift display. "This is gonna be wild!" the Quatro Puppy mage was clearly excited as he shot forward at Kagura, who simply watched impassively, her sheathed sword waiting in her expert grip.

"Let's get wild girlie!" Bacchus shouted as he began his onslaught of furious palm strikes at Kagura, who parried them all expertly with her sheathed blade, a controlled defense against her fellow S-class mage.

Across the arena, Millianna was putting the heat on Rocker, neither had started using magic yet, but it was clear Millianna had the advantage and Rocker was too stubborn to use his magic, refusing to believe he was weaker than a girl.

"Well, this is getting us nowhere, I will end you now, my team needs the points." Kagura said in a deadpan to Bacchus before taking up an offensive stance and letting barrage of blows begin to rain down on Bacchus, who was stumbling to defend himself.

"Wrap it up over over there Millianna." Kagura called to her teammate who shrugged and quickly snagged Rocker in her nekosobu, knocking him out of the fight.

At the same time Bacchus was beginning to worry, Kagura was as good as Erza with a sword, if not better. "You're as good as Titania, so I think I'll step things up a notch." Bacchus said with a laugh, pulling his gourd out, filled to the brim with a very potent alcohol.

"I think not." Kagura countered and with a flick of her wrist, a blast of gravity magic struck the gourd, ripping it from Bacchus's hand and pulled it to Kagura, who emptied it onto the sand floor of the arena. "And now I end it. Slashing form!" Kagura took a solid stance with her blade held out in front of her, then she flickered forward faster than Bacchus's eye could follow.

When the dust settled, Kagura held the stance of resheathing her already sealed blade as Bacchus collapsed in a heap, his sternum cracked and a thin line of blood drawn across his chest.

"And the winner is Kagura and Millianna of Mermaid Heel!"

Kagura strode off, ignoring the calls of Mato and the crowd even as Millianna waved and rode the roaring approval of the crowd.

"Our next match, Lisanna and Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail vs Hermione Granger and Meredy Milkovich of Crime Sorciere!" the Strauss sisters grinned, jumping out onto the field as Meredy watched them carefully.

"Hermione, how likely is is for us to beat them?" Meredy asked the resident genius of Crime Sorciere who shook her head.

"If it was anyone but me I'd say there was a chance if you were going all out, and it would be a sure thing if you were fighting with Harry, but with me we'll most likely to lose, while also revealing our aces." Hermione said, her eyes flicking between her team and the two Strauss sisters.

"We forfeit, we don't have the power necessary to beat them." Meredy called out to Mato, letting the boos of the crowd rain down. Harry just nodded at his partner's action, while he wanted to win, fighting two S class wizards when Hermione was barely A ranked made no sense. All of Crime Sorciere knew how to pick their fights.

"Well, Ten points to FAIRY TAIL!"

"Second day in a row where we've forfeit because of a lopsided matchup. Tells me all I need to know about the organizers." Neville said.

"We're an unknown. They think they figured me out, you too Neville, and I have to believe Luna has them shitting themselves, but we all still have our aces. By throwing high level opponents at us, they want us to play them early, something we won't do yet." Harry analysed the situation accurately. "Not to mention Fairy Tail messed with their plan, so we got the short end of the stick. As much as I don't like it, we have a more important job than winning."

"And for our final match, we have Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney from SABERTOOTH!" the twin dragon slayers entered the ring, Sting playing up the crowd while Rogue followed him silently.

"Their opponents from Lamia Scale, Lyon Vastia and Yuka Suzuki!"

"Lyon's tough, but this is going to push him. Add to that his partner is a liability…" Gray noted as he watched the two face off with the twin dragons.

"We're going to have a lot of ground to make up tomorrow." Makarov said quietly, already knowing the result of the battle before him.

"I think I have an idea…" Mavis said, eyeing the Crime Sorciere team, who was watching the start of the match in shared silence.

"BEGIN!" Mato called and all four mages sprung into action.

"Wave!" Yuka called and began assaulting Rogue from a distance, sending blue anti-magic blasts at his opponent. Rogue simply slipped through them, deflecting the ones that came too close with his jagged katana.

Lyon had his hands full with Sting, who had gotten in close fast and was driving Lyon back with fists covered in a white light.

"Ice make, Eagles!" Lyon took a second to stand in the maker pose, sending a wave of living ice at Sting, who dove under it, fists still shining brightly. He wasn't Lyon's target however, as the eagles struck Rogue's blind side, allowing Yuka to land several strong waves into the shadow dragon's gut.

The match continued for several more minutes before it became clear that as good as Lyon and Yuka were, Sting and Rogue were using their unmatched teamwork to toy with the Lamia Scale mages. While Lyon and Yuka could score glancing shots, neither had the ability needed to land a strong enough hit to take out one of the slayers, Sting and Rogue, like all slayers, were just too durable for normals spells to do much damage.

"This is a joke, pairing those two up against Jura and a lesser mage I could see being an entertaining match, but this is a show for Saber, and Lyon is the one paying for it." Erza commented as Sting and Rogue once again danced their way around the ice make mage, Yuka had already been knocked out by Rogue as Sting held his attention.

"And the Winner of the match is Sting and Rogue of SABERTOOTH!" Mato's declaration was met with no surprise and much cheering as the relatively uninjured twin dragon slayers took bows in the center of the arena before making their way back up to their team and a smirking Minerva.

"After today's fantastic matches, let's have a look at the standings." As Mato spoke the updated standings flashed on all available lacrima screens.

Sabertooth-49

Crime Sorciere-36

Fairy Tail-36

Mermaid Heel-33

Lamia Scale-29

Quatro Puppy-13

"And taking first place, The Number One Guild in Fiore, SABERTOOTH!" And right on queue the whole crowd burst into applause and cheering and all the other guilds competing scowled at the enlarged image of the Sabertooth team.

"Tomorrow begins the final day of competition, so we wish all competitors a good night's rest before the game's conclusion tomorrow."

And with the final words from Mato, the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games came to a close.

Harry was quick to lead his team from the stadium and back to their inn, Laxus did the same with the consolidated Fairy Tail team.

"They will be ready for tomorrow, as rowdy as they are, the Fairies have a brain to back their brawn." Luna said, skipping alongside Harry and Meredy as Hermione and Neville took up the rear.

"And we have ours, so what's the plan?" Neville said, directing his question at the other four members of his team. All of whom were more than capable of coming up with a good plan on their own, together, they could think up some scary stuff.

"Let's wait to hear back from Jellal and Sirius, planning to win this and planning for a show are two different plans." Meredy said as the team finally arrived at their lodgings, Ultear already waiting for them and Jellal and Sirius on their way.

 **Scene break**

As the final round was wrapping up, Sirius in his Padfoot form and a disguised Jellal were sneaking through the lower levels of the Royal Palace, tracking one of the dark magic signatures that had been flitting around Crocus during the games.

As the duo neared a turn, Sirius paused in his step, his sharp canine ears picking catching the dulled voices ahead.

Shifting back to his human form, Sirius signalled for Jellal to stop as he snuck forward, his magic enhancing his ears as he snuck to the turn.

"-hiding something."

"Tomorrow might force them to play their cards, but if they've held out this long, I doubt it. It matters little though, tomorrow, while the eyes of the world are away, we will recover the final key to victory."

The first voice was strong and sharp, the voice of a veteran. The second was smooth and jilted, one Sirius recognized as both a politician and someone whose sanity had left them behind.

"But first we must deal with our uninvited guests." the second voice spoke and Sirius's eyes barely had enough time to widen in shock before a shadow cloaked fist smashed through the narrow corner of the wall and into his jaw.

Even as Sirius flew into the tunnel wall, Jellal sprung into action, his meteor active as he smashed into his opponent, sending him flying down the tunnel a ways.

As the dust cleared, the four men squared off against each other. Jellal and Sirius watching their opponents with experienced eyes.

The first Jellal recognized as Arcadios, the Captain of the royal guard and while not a mage himself, a strong opponent.

The other, who had risen from where Jellal had knocked him, looked familiar, yet he couldn't place where he had seen the man before. His hair was two tone, a tuft of black overlaying a long grey mane that hung down his back. His right eye was covered by the dark portion of his hair, but Jellal could see the bottom of a deep scar leading up to what should have been his right eye.

"Return to the castle Arcadios and make the final preparations, I can handle these two." the two tone man spoke, and Jellal could hear the power in his voice, a frightening amount of power.

"Sirius, let the others know what we have found, I shall cover for you." Jellal's tone was even as he faced down his foe, his magic swirling within him as he prepared for a difficult fight.

Sirius sprinted back the way they came without a word, shifting into his grim form without a pause in his step.

"Jellal Fernandes, of all the people to discover me, you are one of the strongest. I shall enjoy our fight, but you will not stop me." Jellal's expression tightened before he shot forward, his meteor forming around him as he reared back a fist to level into his opponent's jaw.

With superhuman reflexes, his opponent ducked under his extended fist and slammed a blow of his own, wreathed in shadows, into Jellal's unprotected stomach.

Jellal quickly shook off the blow and the two began a vicious exchange of fists, blows clipping each other, body shots landed and returned, every fist strengthened by writhing shadows or harsh yellow starlight.

As the exchange continued, Jellal felt his body begin to feel the toll of combat. If this were a normal fight, he could have just used his meteor to put some distance between himself and his foe, and just use it to outmaneuver and flank his opponent, but the tight confines under the castle kept him from doing so.

His big spells would draw attention to the fight, and he was sure Arcadios would command them to aid his opponent, on top of that, the tunnels were to narrow for him to fly about like he normally would. His opponent though, seemed to have no problems with a straightforward fight, he barely even seemed to notice the meteor enhanced fists that would cave in a normal man's rib cage.

With his disadvantage in mind, Jellal shot back, just avoiding a harsh fist that shattered the floor he had stood on moments before.

"You have seen your disadvantage and consider your options, you are strong, but you will not win here." his opponents voice was calm and his breathing was quickly steadying once again.

"You might be correct, but I can discern your strengths. Your senses, your strength, your durability, your deep connection to shadows. You are a dragon slayer, you are Rogue Cheney, but not the same as the one currently in Sabertooth." Jellal faced his opponent who's confident smirk had grown into a positively mad smile.

"You truly are gifted, to be able to discern so much from just that brief clash. You are correct. I have returned from a desolated future, one wracked by war and death, to save Fiore." Jellal took in his opponents words carefully, his unchanged expression hiding a world of disbelief running through his mind.

"If that is true, then our goals are similar, perhaps you could share some insight into the apocalypse yet to come?" Jellal watched Future Rogue, never dropping his guard even as he phrased the question.

"Of course, while one might question your goals given your shady past, I am one who knows the truth behind your possession Jellal Fernandes, I will share my knowledge." This time Rogue's words drew a reaction from Jellal, namely the flinch when he mentioned his former state of mind.

"Dragons, thousands of dragons, led by the dragon king Acnologia himself." Rogue was blunt and finally cracked Jellal's maks completely as shock and fear rolled across his features.

"Dragons are supposed to be extinct, yes Acnologia himself possesses the power to fight a country himself, he does not have the strength to take on all of Earthland. There has to be more." Jellal insisted, and Rogue smirked.

"There is, there is much more, but for now that is all you need to know. You have come close to interfering, and I cannot permit that." Rogue's words were smooth, but Jellal caught the meaning behind them.

"This apocalypse, you plan on stopping it by taking control of the world yourself, as a dragon slayer, one with years more training than any currently in this time period, you plan on seizing control so you can lead an army to glorious victory against Acnologia, to make yourself king amongst dragons."

Rogue gave a cruel harsh laugh at Jellal's accusation, the sound reverberating through the tunnel.

"I vastly underestimated your brilliant mind Jellal Fernandes. It is understandable and course, you didn't survive long once Acnologia struck. You and others rallied and tried to foolishly defeat him without the aid of the dragon slayers. You all died in a raging inferno. I will honor your brilliance by giving your a glimpse of my true power, only Acnologia himself has survived against my full might, let's see how you fare."

Jellal almost collapsed to his knees as Future Rogue's aura exploded as an incredible blast of magic power hit him dead on, sending into the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.

Rogue observed his defeated foe as he once again reigned in his magic. The slow rise and fall of his chest the only indicator Jellal had survived the blast. Rogue gave a chuckle as he turned to leave.

"Resilient to the end, it would have been fun to defeat you in a fair fight, Jellal Fernandes, but my future awaits, a future where I am king." Rogue's parting words went unheard by Jellal, whose burnt and broken body lay on the cold stone floor motionless.

But his words were heard by the large dog-shaped shadow that sprung forth from underneath Jellal and carried the broken mage away from the tunnel.

 **Wow, it has been far to long since I last posted, life is a pain like that. Doesn't help that this chapter got rewritten and changed about four times before I was happy with it.**

 **I've been working on three other stories at the same time and once I finally finish Magical Sense I think I'm going to post the chapter one for them to see what gets the best response. Or I'll just pick one to start posting for and have the others in my pocket for a rainy day.**

 **The favorites and follows have been raining in and I couldn't be happier. Over 1000 favs is more than I ever expected, you guys and gals and whatever else you identify as all rock.**

 **Happy Reading -Centurion Africanus**


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